CMS vision shifts as agency halts funding for state programs
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will no longer approve federal matching funds for designated state health programs (DSHPs) and designated state investment programs (DSIPs) that are not directly related to Medicaid services. According to the April 10 announcement, the decision aims to preserve the core…
GAO urges HHS to improve drug shortage response coordination
Editor's Note The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement a formal mechanism for coordinating efforts to address ongoing drug shortages, which continue to jeopardize patient care nationwide. In a report released April 9, 2025, the GAO highlighted the critical…
Hospital M&A activity drops to historic low amid economic and policy uncertainty
Editor's Note A sharp drop in 2025 brings hospital and health system mergers and acquisitions to their lowest point in years, according to Kaufman Hall’s most recent Mergers and Acquisitions Quarterly Activity Report. Just five transactions were announced in Q1, a steep decline attributed to widespread economic volatility, concerns over…
Study: US maternal mortality rises 28% in 5 years, inequities persist
Editor's Note Pregnancy-related deaths in the US rose sharply from 2018 to 2022, with rates 3.8 times higher among American Indian and Alaska Native women and 2.8 times higher among non-Hispanic Black women than among White women, according to a new study published April 9 in JAMA Network Open. Researchers…
Study: MRI contrast agent causes harmful metal buildup in some patients
Editor's Note New research offers a potential explanation for why some patients retain toxic metals long after undergoing an MRI. Published in the journal Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the findings show that gadolinium contrast agents used in MRI scans may react with common dietary compounds to form harmful metal nanoparticles in…
Dissolvable pacemaker delivers temporary cardiac support without wires, surgery
Editor's Note Researchers have developed a fully dissolvable, needle-injectable pacemaker that regulates heart rhythms without requiring surgical removal. As detailed in an April 2 article in Scientific American, the miniature device—just millimeters in size—can deliver electrical stimulation for days to weeks before safely breaking down in the body, potentially reducing…
Study: Cannabis use complicates sedation, cancer care
Editor's Note Cannabis users may require higher doses of anesthetics during sedation and experience worse physical and psychological symptoms during cancer treatment, according to an April 7 announcement from the University of Oklahoma (OU). Publishing in the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, a multidisciplinary team of university researchers found that cannabis users…
Medication vial coring incidents prompt patient safety concerns
Editor's Note Safety organizations are raising concerns amid increased reports of improper needle use causing vial coring, leading to potential contamination and patient risk. Published April 4 by the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) and ECRI/Institute for Safe Medicine Practices (ISMP), the alert offers interim guidelines to reduce risks associated…
First single-port robotic renal vein transposition surgery treats nutcracker syndrome
Editor's Note Sidney Barbier, a University of Denver senior and competitive cross-country skier, became the first person worldwide to undergo single-port robotic renal vein transposition, marking a breakthrough in treating nutcracker syndrome, The Cleveland Clinic reported April 3. As detailed in the article, the robotic surgery ended a competitive skier’s…
Study: Mortality prediction models fail to recognize severe patient injuries
Editor's Note Machine learning (ML) models designed to predict patient mortality are falling short when it comes to identifying severe injuries that could lead to death, according to a March 27 report in TechTarget. The article focuses on research published in Nature Communications Medicine found that ML mortality prediction models…
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