Among the top 10 medical innovations for 2017 identified by the Cleveland Clinic is 3D visualization technology that gives surgeons high-resolution views of their patients while performing ophthalmologic surgery or neurosurgery. Surgeons who have piloted the technology say it offers greater comfort and efficiency. Warren Selman, MD, chair of the…

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With safety and quality now tied to reimbursement as part of value-based purchasing (VBP), hospitals must meet benchmarks for patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, and readmissions to avoid financial penalties imposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The VBP program added the Patient Safety Indicator, or PSI 90, metric…

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Each year, advances in medical technologies offer new ways to improve the quality of patient care. But some also create new opportunities for harm. Medical technology is intended to improve patient care, but even the best of technology—if configured, used, or maintained improperly—can lead to problems. Hospitals must regularly examine…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on January 9 issued a safety alert for St Jude Medical’s (St Paul, Minnesota) radio frequency-enabled implantable cardiac devices and Merlin@home transmitters on reducing the risk of patient harm from cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities, if exploited, could allow an unauthorized user to remotely…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission in December banned the use of secure text messaging to transmit patient orders, the January 9 Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality reports. The Joint Commission collaborated with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make the following recommendations: Healthcare facilities are prohibited…

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Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on January 9 released its 2017 Top 10 Hospital C-Suite Watch List. The list includes both technologies and critical technology use issues that hospital leaders should be aware of. Included in the list are: an initiative to improve outcomes and costs of abdominal surgery hospital…

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Editor's Note A new survey shows the US implantable device market is expected to reach $73.9 billion by 2018, the January 6 Becker’s Spine Review reports. Among the survey findings: The market was valued at $43.1 billion in 2011. An increasing aging population, number of chronic degenerative diseases, and healthcare…

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Editor's Note In this study, the composite outcomes of death, stroke, myocardial infarction, renal failure, or repeat revascularization at 5 year follow-up were similar for patients who had off-pump and on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures. The researchers also found no significant difference in cost or quality of life…

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Editor's Note ECRI Institute announced December 15 that it is providing an abridged version of its 2017 Top 10 list of health technology hazards as a free public service to inform healthcare facilities about important safety issues involving the use of medical devices and systems. Among the hazards are: inadequate…

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Editor's Note Mount Sinai Health System (New York City) on December 6 announced its Medical Modeling Core, a collaboration led by the neurosurgery department, where clinicians can order 3D models for their cases. Virtual reality, simulation, and 3D printing services will be provided with quick turnaround times and at significant…

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