Editor's Note:  An annual Gallup poll continues to rank nursing as the most trusted profession in the United States. However, the number of US adults who believe nurses are honest and highly ethical has declined more than 10 percent from its 2020 peak. Released January 22, Gallup’s 2023 Honesty and…

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Editor's Note The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced a new initiative to ensure public access to emergency healthcare and assist hospitals in fulfilling obligations under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a CMS January…

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Editor's Note: A point-of-care, antimicrobial coating for orthopedic implants could soon make implant-associated infections a problem of the past, UCLA Health reported on January 3. Developed by two UCLA surgeons, the coating is designed to kill or slow the spread of micro-organisms in order to prevent post-surgical infections. According to…

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Editor's Note:  Lack of quality vacation time explains part of the reason why so many physicians are experiencing burnout, according to a study published January 12 in Jama Network Open. Specifically, the study found that 7 out of 10 participating US physicians did at least some work on a typical…

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Editor's Note: Rural communities are at serious risk due to hospitals’ increasing inability to offer labor and delivery services, according to a new report from the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform. Highlights include: More than half (55%) of rural hospitals in the U.S. do not offer labor and…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has implemented a final rule reforming the prior authorization process, with the aim to reduce delays in patient care and boost electronic efficiency for physicians, the American Medical Association (AMA) News Wire reported January 23. The Department of Health and…

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Editor's Note: Equinoxe Shoulder System joint replacement devices manufactured by Exactech between 2004 and 2021 are at risk of premature wearing or failure due to defective packaging, according to a January 16 safety alert from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The bags used to package the devices were…

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Editor's Note:  Adherence to routine disinfection procedures may not be enough to prevent potentially harmful bacterial contamination of high-touch hospital surfaces, according to findings published January 10 in the American Journal of Infection Control. Manikins, bed rails, and workstations-on-wheels were the most contaminated surfaces. The study involved sampling and culturing…

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Editor's Note:  Surgeons successfully tested three fixes for a leaky heart valve on a biological pig heart fitted with a silicone robotic pump, HealthDay reported on January 11. According to the article, the biorobotic heart offers significant advantages over existing heart simulators. These include a longer shelf life, greater ability…

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Editor's Note:  Due to sex hormones, “the female brain is more resistant to the hypnotic effects of volatile anesthetics,” concludes a study published January 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. General anesthetics work in part by modulating the activity of hypothalamic circuits, which regulate sleep and…

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