Editor's Note Surgical teams can dramatically reduce healthcare’s carbon footprint through waste reduction, energy efficiency, and smarter procurement, Cureus October 7 reports. The review’s authors describe surgery as both a major environmental challenge and a key opportunity for hospitals to align climate responsibility with clinical and financial goals. Healthcare contributes…
Editor's Note Federal officials’ public rebuke of the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI) highlights mounting tensions over who should shape guardrails for artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, Modern Healthcare October 10 reports. As hospitals accelerate AI adoption, industry leaders, regulators, and developers are clashing over how to ensure the technology’s…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded its early alert recall program to include all medical devices, speeding up how quickly the public learns about high-risk safety issues, Modern Healthcare October 9 reports. The initiative allows the FDA to post early alerts within days of manufacturers notifying…
Editor's Note Beginning October 1, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is mandating that all De Novo classification requests be submitted electronically using its eSTAR system, according to a final rule and guidance issued by the agency. As detailed in the September 30 release, the shift marks a procedural change…
Editor's Note Private equity is driving a quiet but powerful transformation in the $30 billion ambulatory surgery center (ASC) market, heightening risks of higher costs and reduced competition, an October 2025 research brief from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) reports. It warns that Wall-Street-backed consolidation and opaque ownership structures…
Editor's Note The dismantling of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) jeopardizes worker safety nationwide and risks reversing decades of progress, New England Journal of Medicine October 4 reports. In April, sweeping federal workforce reductions eliminated more than 80% of NIOSH staff, closing laboratories and freezing core…
Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) has launched a new online tool that helps patients and families locate hospitals recognized for delivering high-quality surgical care, according to an August 26 ACS announcement. The “Find a Hospital” tool highlights facilities that have earned ACS accreditation or verification through an…
Editor's Note Sterile processing departments (SPDs) face chronic staffing shortages and underinvestment that put surgical patients at risk, according to a Surgical Directions September 18 report. It emphasizes that sterile processing technicians, who decontaminate, inspect, and sterilize every surgical instrument, remain under-recognized despite their central role in surgical safety. Per…
Editor's Note Ambulatory care leaders can now sharpen compliance strategies with the release of the 2025 Quality Roadmap from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), published September 22. The annual report distills more than a year of survey findings into practical guidance for addressing the most common accreditation…
Editor's Note The plan to eliminate the Medicare Inpatient-Only (IPO) List and expand the Ambulatory Surgery Center Covered Procedures List (ASC-CPL) from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has generated widespread reaction, with more than 3,900 comments submitted during the official feedback period, Ambulatory Surgery Center News September…