Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 4 posted the Top 5 most challenging requirements identified most frequently as “not compliant” during surveys and reviews during the first half of 2019. The Top 5 for hospital accreditation are: LS.02.01.35: The hospital provides and maintains systems for extinguishing fires (91%). EC.02.05.01:…

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Editor's Note Strong evidence suggests that most declines in excess readmissions--after implementation of Medicare’s Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP)--at poorly performing hospitals can be explained by a statistical phenomenon called “regression to the mean [RTM],” this study finds. In RTM, entities farther away from the mean in one period are…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on August 29 issued a News Release recommending that healthcare facilities and manufacturers begin transitioning to duodenoscopes with disposable components to reduce the risk of patient infection. The FDA also announced additional actions they have taken to help ensure the safety of…

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Editor's Note In this study, changing the responsibility for ICU patient transports to the OR from the anesthesia to the ICU services did not change turnover times, but it resulted in more on-time starts and high compliance with preoperative checklist documentation. The crude proportion of on-time starts increased from 32.6%…

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Editor's Note There are gender differences in how physicians perceive EHR-related stress, satisfaction, and usability, finds this study. Of 25 ICU physicians who participated in the study, 48% were men and 52% were women. Overall task performance scores were similar, but men reported significantly higher perceived EHR workload stress and…

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Editor's Note The debate over surgical cap attire has grown from a patient-safety issue to a platform for emotionally driven arguments, unflattering logic, and failed leadership by all parties involved, according to this Viewpoint article in JAMA Surgery. The 2014 guidelines from AORN never explicitly endorsed the bouffant hair cover,…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on August 28 announced five new inpatient performance measures for the Comprehensive Cardiac Center Certification program, which will be effective January 1, 2020. Data collection for the measures will be mandatory for currently certified programs and organizations seeking initial certification. In addition to the mandatory…

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Editor's Note Senior surgical residents can safely supervise junior residents performing appendectomies, and training programs should encourage faculty to let senior residents manage operative appendicitis as independently as possible as well as supervise junior residents intraoperatively, this study finds. In this review of 928 appendectomies performed at the University of…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on August 28 announced the publication of an R3 Report on two new standards designed to improve the quality and safety of perinatal care in accredited hospitals. The standards, which will take effect July 1, 2020, require organizations to examine their processes and procedures for…

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Editor's Note Using a learning culture perspective that acknowledges blame and responsibility can facilitate learning from mistakes, this Canadian study finds. A total of 19 physicians were interviewed on their experiences in learning from medical errors. Memories of mistakes from residence training stood out, and participants expressed feeling both responsible…

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