Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 19 launched a webpage that covers four high-risk areas that surveyors evaluate. The “4-1-1 on Survey Enhancements” interactive page provides resources for: Sterile medication compounding Suicide prevention High-level disinfection and sterilization Hemodialysis. The Joint Commission enhanced its evaluation of these high risk areas…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 20 announced that fluoroquinolone antibiotics can increase the occurrence of ruptures or tears in the aorta. The FDA recommends that healthcare professionals: Avoid prescribing fluoroquinolone antibiotics to patients who have or are at risk for having an aortic aneurysm, and…

Read More

Editor's Note The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) on December 11 published a new expert guidance on “Infection prevention in the operating room anesthesia work area.” Key recommendations of the guidance to improve infection prevention include: Increased hand hygiene performed, at a minimum, before aseptic tasks, after removing…

Read More

Editor's Note US hospital jobs increased 12,700 in November to a seasonally adjusted 5,228,200, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on December 7. That is up 118,000 more employees than a year ago. Overall, healthcare employment has increased by 328,300 in the past year. The overall unemployment rate is 3.7%.

Read More

Editor's Note In this study, an ultrarestrictive opioid prescribing strategy was associated with a reduction in the number of pills dispensed without changes in postoperative pain, complications, or increases in prescription refill requests. In this case-control 2-year analysis of 1,231 women having surgery for gynecologic cancer, those having ambulatory or…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 10 issued a statement on an updated safety communication about rates of duodenoscope contamination obtained from preliminary postmarket data. Interim results from sampling studies from device manufacturers−Olympus, Fujifilm, and Pentax− indicate higher-than-expected contamination rates after reprocessing. Up to 3% of…

Read More

Editor's Note Harmful medical errors decreased by nearly 38% after implementing a program to improve communication between healthcare providers, patients, and families, finds this study. A total of 3,106 pediatric patient admissions in seven US hospitals, 2,148 parents or caregivers, 435 nurses, 203 medical students, and 586 residents were involved…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 10 issued a new Sentinel Event Alert on developing a reporting culture to improve healthcare safety systems. The alert explores guidance to eliminate fear of negative consequences for those reporting mistakes and unsafe conditions in their organizations. The alert also encourages learning from…

Read More

Editor's Note New research from the Hip Implant Prosthesis Study (HIPS) team at the University of Bristol Medical School that analyzed hip replacements in more than 1 million patients in the United Kingdom and Sweden found that: Small-head (less than 36 mm in diameter) cemented metal-on-polyethylene implants were the most…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 5 announced a new, free educational tool that details wrong-site surgery safety strategies--identifying risk factors and possible ways to improve processes. The case study lays out a situation in which a patient is scheduled for transbronchial biopsies of the right upper lung but…

Read More