Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on November 4 identified Philips Medical System’s (Cleveland) recall of its Forte Gamma Camera System as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the potential for the detector, which weighs 660 pounds, to become detached from the device…
Editor's Note Incorporating medical scribes into surgical practices to reduce time surgeons spend on patient documentation and managing electronic health records increases the number of patients seen by surgeons and residents in outpatient clinics, finds this study presented October 29 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2019 in…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on November 4 identified the recall by Abbott of its CentriMag Circulatory Support System as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a calibration system error resulting from electromagnetic interference that may cause the pump to slow or stop,…
Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) Surgical Risk Calculator accurately predicted four quality-of-life outcomes that transcend traditional measures of successful surgery and now reflects the expected effects of surgery on an older patient’s ability to function independently, finds this study presented October…
Editor's Note Heartvista (Los Altos, California) has obtained clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted One Click autonomous MRI acquisition software for cardiac ischemia exams, the October 30 BioWorld MedTech reports. Integrated with existing MRI scanners, the software uses AI to guide image acquisition,…
Editor's Note Surgeons can better understand the effect of a patient's postoperative physical activity on their recovery by capturing passively-collected accelerometer data from their patients’ smartphones, finds this study presented October 28 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2019 in San Francisco. Patients enrolled in the study downloaded…
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 1 released its final payment rule for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs). CMS added eight codes to the ASC-payable list, including total knee arthroplasty. CMS also removed total hip arthroplasty and seven spine codes from…
Editor's Note Half of general surgery residents experience workplace mistreatment at least a few times a year, which greatly raises their risk of burnout and suicidal thoughts, finds a national survey that was presented October 28 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2019 in San Francisco. Survey responses…
Editor's Note Employment in US hospitals was up 2,100 jobs in October to a seasonally adjusted 5,270,600, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on November 1. That’s up 91,300 more employees than a year ago. Overall, healthcare employment has increased 402,100 in the past year. The overall unemployment rate was…
Editor's Note Delaying a cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis more than 3 days after admission increased the rate of complications, hospital readmissions, and lengthened hospital stays, in this study presented October 30 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2019 in San Francisco. Using 2012 to 2016 ACS National Surgical…