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CMS releases OPPS, ASC proposed rule for 2017

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 14 published the 2017 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System policy changes, quality provisions, and payment rates proposed rule.  Among the proposals:  an increase in OPPS payment rates by 1.55%--a combination…

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By: Judy Mathias
July 13, 2016
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Study finds large colorectal polyps pose low cancer risk

Editor's Note In the majority of patients with large or difficult to remove colorectal polyps, the incidence of cancer is much lower than previously thought, suggesting advanced endoscopic treatments may be a viable option to traditional colon resection, this study finds. Of 439 patients who had a colectomy at the…

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By: Judy Mathias
July 6, 2016
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Knee, hip reconstruction market to hit $16.5B by 2022

Editor's Note A GlobalData report predicts the global knee and hip reconstruction market will reach almost $16.5 billion by 2022, with a 2.5% compound annual growth rate, according to the June 29 Becker’s Spine Review. Among the things to know: The market was valued at $14 billion in 2015. Various…

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By: Judy Mathias
July 6, 2016
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BLS: Demand for RNs remains high

Editor's Note The healthcare sector is on track to produce nearly 440,000 jobs for RNs by 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports. The healthcare sector added 46,000 jobs overall in May, including more than 24,000 ambulatory care positions and more than 5,000 positions in nursing facilities. According to…

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By: Judy Mathias
July 6, 2016
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Postop visual loss from spine surgery down significantly

Editor's Note Postoperative ischemic optic neuropathy (ION) in spinal fusion patients significantly decreased from 1998 to 2012 by almost 3-fold, this study finds. Age over 50, male gender, blood transfusion during procedure, and obesity significantly increased the risk of ION. The authors attribute the decline in risk to the increasing…

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By: Judy Mathias
July 5, 2016
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CMS: Final rule allows selling of claims data

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 1 released a final rule that allows certain CMS-approved organizations, including for-profit companies and government entities, to buy Medicare claims and other federal data at a price matching the governments’ cost of processing the data, Modern Healthcare reports.…

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By: Judy Mathias
July 5, 2016
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Study: EHRs leads to physician burnout, job dissatisfaction

Editor's Note This study finds that physicians who use electronic health records (EHRs) have higher rates of burnout and are more likely to be dissatisfied with their jobs because of the amount of time spent completing computerized medical forms. The findings, based on a survey of 6,375 physicians, found that…

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By: Judy Mathias
July 5, 2016
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Toolkit for monitoring endoscope reprocessing effectiveness

Editor's Note In this study, a preassembled toolkit that facilitated the aseptic collection of samples for culturing detected viable microbes on fully reprocessed endoscopes. Biopsy ports and suction/biopsy channels of 5 gastroscopes, 5 colonoscopes, and 5 bronchoscopes were aseptically sampled with the toolkit after the scopes were fully processed. Bacteria…

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By: Judy Mathias
July 1, 2016
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CMS issues corrections to new fire safety requirements for hospital outpatient surgical departments

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on June 30 published a correction to its recently updated fire safety requirements for hospitals. The correction says that hospital outpatient surgical departments must meet Life Safety Code provisions "applicable to Ambulatory Health Care Occupancies, regardless of the number of…

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By: Judy Mathias
July 1, 2016
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FDA: Class I recall of HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device batteries

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 29 categorized the recall of HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD) batteries by HeartWare Inc (Framingham, Massachusetts) as Class I, the most serious. The batteries are being recalled because they may lose power prematurely because of faulty cells. If the HVAD…

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By: Judy Mathias
July 1, 2016
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