Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 13 announced a new Speak Up campaign that focuses on the right of patients to be informed about and make decisions on their care. “Speak Up For Your Rights” offers free materials to download and give to patients and their families, including: An…

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Editor's Note Infection after surgery during postoperative days 0 to 30 is significantly associated with long-term infection and mortality, this study finds. In this analysis of 659,486 patients from the Veterans Health Administration, 3.6% had a 30-day infection, 6.6% had a long-term infection, and 3.8% died during follow-up. At any…

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Editor's Note Every year, Perioperative Nurse Week focuses attention on the work of more than 160,000 nurses who advocate for surgical patients. During the week, perioperative nurses are honored by colleagues and communities to highlight the ways in which nurses are working to improve patient safety−before, during, and after surgery−in…

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Editor's Note Ambulatory surgery center (ASC) outpatient procedures were more efficiently performed than those performed at a hospital outpatient department (HOP) in this study. Of 220 procedures included in the study (114 ASC, 106 HOP): mean turnover time was 29.8 minutes for HOP vs 24.5 for ASC ancillary time was…

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Editor's Note ECRI Institute on November 7 announced that it opposes a total ban of commercial ethylene oxide (EtO) sterilization operations because it could result in widespread shortages of sterile medical devices. Hospitals around the country reported device shortages after a large Illinois-based sterilization plant closed because of state environmental…

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Editor's Note In this study, a new machine learning Complexity Score algorithm outperformed three commonly used risk scores in predicting postoperative morbidity, 30-day readmission, 90-day readmission, and postoperative surper-use. Study patients underwent colectomy, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, coronary artery bypass grafting, total hip or knee replacement, or lung resection. The…

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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…

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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…

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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,…

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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…

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