Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced assistance for providers affected by the Change Healthcare cyberattack ends next month. According to the June 17 announcement, payments under the Accelerated and Advance Payment (AAP) Program for the Change Healthcare/Optum Payment Disruption (CHOPD) will end July 12,…

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Editor's Note A pair of immunotherapy drugs administered before surgery significantly diminished tumor size without serious safety concerns in patients with mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) colorectal cancer, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Healthline reported the news June 8. Constituting 10-15% of cases, dMMR cancer…

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Editor's Note Robotic liver surgery can be performed safely as an outpatient procedure, according to findings from the City of Hope cancer research organization in Duarte, California. According to a June 10 press release, the study analyzed data of 307 patients who underwent outpatient robotic liver surgery (defined as requiring…

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Editor's Note Bariatric surgery provides longer-lasting, more effective weight loss than GLP-1 receptor agonists and lifestyle interventions, according to systematic reviews of medical literature from 2020 to 2024. Medical Xpress reported the news June 11. Presented at the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting,…

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Editor's Note Ascension has restored electronic health records (EHRs) throughout all hospitals and clinics nationwide, according to a June 14 update from the St. Louis-based health system. "Clinical workflow in our hospitals and clinics will function similarly to the way it did prior to the ransomware attack," the statement reads,…

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Editor's Note A mass spectrometry platform that identifies key brain cancer mutations in real-time during surgery shows potential for improving outcomes in a procedure when time is of utmost importance, Technology Networks reported June 3. Developed by the Mayo Clinic, the platform specifically targets dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations on samples taken…

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Editor's Note  The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) has updated its standard on ethylene oxide (EO) sterilizers for healthcare facilities, according to a June 12 press release. The first update in two decades, the fourth edition ANSI/AAMI ST24:2024 covers labeling, safety, performance, and testing requirements for general-purpose…

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Editor's Note Two new studies show robotic surgery outperforming laparoscopic approaches to metabolic and bariatric procedures in terms of operating times, length of hospital stay, and complication rates, according to a June 11 report in Medical Xpress. Both studies were presented at the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery…

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Editor's Note The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has announced Class 1 recalls—the most severe category, indicating risk of serious injury or death—for three products: MEGA SOFT Pediatric Patient Return Electrodes from Megadyne, Vaporizer Sevoflurane Maquet Filling from Getinge; and Arrow FiberOptix Intra-Aortic Balloon Catheter Kit and Arrow UltraFlex…

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Editor's Note Personal patient data could have been compromised in the May 8 cyberattack on Ascension, according to the latest update from the St. Louis-based healthcare system. Posted June 12, the update reveals that attackers accessed files from seven out of 25,000 file servers used for routine tasks, potentially containing…

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