Editor's Note This prospective randomized trial by researchers at the University of California San Francisco  examines the health effects of coffee consumption on cardiac ectopy and arrhythmias, daily step counts, sleep minutes, and serum glucose levels. A total of 100 adults were fitted with a continuously recording electrocardiogram device, a…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on March 22, announced that it is seeking comments on proposed new requirements to address environmental sustainability for the hospital and critical access hospital programs. The aim of the proposed new Leadership (LD) Standard LD.05.01.01 is to help facilities minimize their carbon footprints as they…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), on March 23, announced the launch of a National Quality Verification Program for Vascular Care (Vascular-VP). Vascular-VP helps participating hospitals improve outcomes and deliver the best treatment for patients having inpatient vascular surgical and interventional procedures.…

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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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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 17 identified the recall by Datascope/Getinge of certain Cardiosave Hybrid and Rescue Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumps (IABPs) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the coiled cable connecting the display and base on some units may fail,…

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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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