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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A visual management board is a communication tool that provides at-a-glance information about current process performance to help staff coordinate and guide their daily work and monitor ongoing improvement projects. Perioperative staff at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, have a 20-minute weekly huddle at their Lean-based visual management board,…

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Protecting patient safety in the OR is everyone’s business. No single group should shoulder the full responsibility for reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). In addition to infection preventionists, epidemiologists, and environmental services personnel, it is the duty of everyone involved in patient care to provide an optimal clean and aseptic surgical…

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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 led by researchers from the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, finds that total hip arthroplasty (THA) performed with a cementless prosthesis for a femoral neck fracture led to a higher rate of a second fracture and revision surgery. The multicenter analysis included 709 THAs…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 8 announced that it has approved new and revised requirements for hospitals and critical access hospitals certified under the Patient Blood Management Certification program, effective July 1. The requirements have been updated to maintain alignment with the Association for the Advancement of Blood…

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