DOJ task force, insurers target ASC barriers with parallel reforms
Editor's Note Federal regulators and major insurers are independently moving to ease long-standing burdens on ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), potentially reshaping the regulatory and administrative landscape in which perioperative leaders operate. According to Ambulatory Surgery Center News June 23, ASC stakeholders are actively engaging with the new Anticompetitive Regulations Task…
Recent FDA Class 1 recall designations include anesthesia systems, aortic root cannula
Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated recent medical device recalls involving GE Healthcare’s Carestation anesthesia system, Medtronic aortic root cannula systems, Zoll Circulation’s AutoPulse NXT Resuscitation System, and Medtronic’s Bravo CF Capsule Delivery Devices as Class 1, the most severe category indicating serious risk of…
Major insurers pledge prior authorization reform
Editor's Note Nearly 50 major US health insurers—including UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, Elevance, and Humana—have pledged to reform prior authorization practices, with the goal of easing administrative burdens and improving access to care, according to a June 23 article in Healthcare Dive. As detailed in the article, the announcement came from…
The Joint Commission, CHAI collaborate on scalable health AI standards
Editor's Note The Joint Commission and the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI) are partnering to set national standards for responsible artificial intelligence (AI) use in healthcare, according to a June 11 announcement from the organizations. This effort will deliver AI implementation guidance, tools, and a certification program to over 80%…
Significant CMS moves include withdrawal of emergency abortion care guidance
Editor's Note CMS has rescinded a 2022 guidance that protected clinicians providing emergency abortion care under the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA), removing a key federal safeguard for providers in states with abortion restrictions, according to a June 2 article in Becker’s Hospital Review. The guidance, originally issued…
Proposed HHS, NIH budget cuts reveal administration priorities
Editor's Note The Trump administration’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget calls for slashing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) discretionary budget by $32 billion, a nearly 25% cut that brings the total to $95 billion. Fierce Healthcare reported the news June 2. Although many of the proposed cuts…
AI-powered smart glasses catch drug errors
Editor's Note An AI-powered wearable camera has achieved 99.6% accuracy in detecting potentially deadly drug mix-ups, including in the OR, NBC News reported May 25. Developed by Kelly Michaelsen, MD, at UW Medicine, the smart glasses scan medication labels in real time, alerting anesthesia providers to syringe-vial mismatches before drugs…
Standards strengthen sterilization, disinfection process chains
Preventing infection from contaminated surgical tools requires attention to every link in a complex chain of processes, from point-of-use pretreatment in the OR to the moment the freshly disinfected or sterilized item arrives at the next patient’s bedside. For those on the front lines, manufacturers’ written instructions for use (IFUs)…
Federal agencies urge organizations to fortify AI data security across system lifecycles
Editor's Note AI systems are only as secure and reliable as the data that powers them. That’s the central message of a guidance sheet jointly issued May 22 by the NSA, CISA, FBI, and cybersecurity agencies from Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The document outlines best practices for securing…
CMS updates hospital price transparency guidelines
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated hospital price transparency guidelines to require publishing real, calculated dollar amounts rather than placeholders and estimates. As detailed in the agency’s May 22 announcement, the revision complies with President Trump’s February 25 Executive Order 14221, “Making America Healthy…
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- New studies highlight opportunities to improve pediatric anesthesia safety, comfort
- Social and behavioral factors emerging as key predictors of recovery quality after surgery
- Hospitals being squeezed: Anesthesia workforce gaps, payer cuts threaten surgery access
- CDC layoffs cripple national injury and overdose tracking, leaving prevention efforts in doubt
- The Joint Commission makes nurse staffing a national performance goal for 2026
- Telehealth in limbo: Providers split on continuing Medicare services during shutdown
- States take aim at outpatient facility fees driving higher commercial health costs
- Slower acquisitions, mounting debt reshape Surgery Partners growth outlook
- ASCs surge as hospitals and investors chase outpatient growth
- Nearly half of US physicians now work for large systems: GAO links consolidation to higher costs