Editor's Note In this study led by California's Stanford Health Care, researchers found significant associations of surgical team composition and dynamics with operative efficiency for total hip (THAs) and total knee arthroplasties (TKAs), independent of case complexity. The analysis included 641 total joint arthroplasties (279 THAs and 362 TKAs) performed…

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Editor's Note Gen Z job seekers are increasingly shunning traditional hiring practices, and employers need to keep up, the March 20 Benefit News reports. Recent research finds that 73% of job-seekers aged 18 to 34 found their last job through social media, while at the same time, 75% of companies…

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Editor's Note With the demand for travel nurses rising significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, some states are proposing measures to control what staffing agencies can charge healthcare facilities that use the temporary staff, the March 17 Kaiser Health News reports. Among 11 states proposing regulations: Missouri is calling for felony…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 16 updated its list of COVID-19 medical device shortages to reflect changes in estimated shortage durations during the public health emergency. These include: Radiological devices General plastic surgery devices Cardiac diagnostic and monitoring products General ICU/hospital products Specimen collection, testing…

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Editor's Note Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on March 15 amended the February 4, 2020, COVID-19 emergency use authorizations for: diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 personal respiratory protective equipment other medical devices including alternative products used as medical devices drug and biological products. These emergency…

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Situational awareness is the perception of events occurring around a person in a particular environment. Knowing what is happening helps that person make better decisions. But how does that apply in the perioperative context? In 2004, The Joint Commission made situational awareness the cornerstone of its surgical timeout requirement. The…

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Editor's Note In this study, led by the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, researchers developed and validated better surgical specialty-specific multimorbidity definitions based on distinct characteristics of older inpatients undergoing general, orthopedic, or vascular surgery. The researchers used 2016 to 2017 Medicare administrative claims data on patients…

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Editor's Note Disrupted sleep rhythms because of the daylight saving time change can throw people off schedule, leading to cumulative sleep loss, the March 9 npr.org reports. Studies have shown there is a higher risk of strokes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, automobile accidents, workplace injuries, and mental health issues…

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Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in February to a seasonally adjusted 16,688,300 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on March 10. That’s up 44,200 since January. Hospital employment also was up by 19,400 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for March was 3.6%, for a…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, finds that total hip (THA) and total knee (TKA) arthroplasty patients could be prescribed less opioids after surgery without the need for refills. The analysis included a cohort of 120,889 opioid-naïve primary total joint arthroplasty patients aged 18 to…

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