Editor's Note Expected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.6%, US healthcare spending will outpace GDP growth—projected at 4.3%--and rise to $7.7 trillion by 2032, according to a June 28 report in ASC focus. The $7.7 trillion figure amounts to 19.7% of GDP. The report is sourced from…

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Editor's Note Female patients undergoing heart surgery are less likely than male patients to have concomitant procedures—that is, having additional ailments addressed during cardiac procedures—despite guidelines recommending such treatments, according to two studies led by Michigan Medicine. News-Medical.Net reported the news June 28. The first study, involving over 5,000 patients…

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Editor's Note On June 27, The Justice Department announced the 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action, leading to criminal charges against 193 defendants, including 76 medical professionals across 32 federal districts in the U.S. for their involvement in various health care fraud schemes. These schemes accounted for approximately $2.75…

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Editor's Note Research presented at this year’s Digestive Disease Week in May highlights the potential health risks posed by smoke generated during tissue-cutting ablations in gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News May 18 reports. Unlike surgeons in ORs, who follow specific regulations to mitigate smoke exposure, GI endoscopy procedures…

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Editor's Note Starting August 1, ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) will need to comply with new and revised requirements for Life Safety Code® and patient rights, a June 26 news update from The Joint Commission reports. These updates align with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Conditions for Coverage.…

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Editor's Note Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations are at risk, and legal challenges to Medicare payments are likely to rise following the Supreme Court’s overturning of the 40-year-old legal precedent Chevron deference, according to a June 28 report in Becker’s Hospital Review. "Chevron deference is the principle that when…

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Editor's Note New research highlights sharp, nationwide increases in both male and female sterilization procedures since the Supreme Court overturned landmark decision Roe vs. Wade in 2022. Published in JAMA Health Forum, the research on how many 18- to 30-year-olds were getting sterilized before and after the ruling was the…

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Editor's Note Although SecurityScorecard gave the US healthcare a “better than expected” B+ rating for cybersecurity in 2024, the supply chain cybersecurity firm also highlighted significant risks in application and endpoint security, HealthcareIT News reported June 25.   Overall, 35% of third-party data breaches in 2023 affected healthcare organizations, the…

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Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration has announced class 1 recalls—the most severe category indicating risk of serious injury or death—for Abbot Medical’s HeartMate System Monitor and Philips Respironics OmniLab Advanced+ (OLA+) ventilator. According to the agency’s June 28 report, the recall of the HeartMate System Monitor, part…

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Editor's Note Amid continued debate about the best choice of preoperative skin antiseptic, findings published in JAMA June 17 show that povidone iodine in alcohol offers similar outcomes to chlorhexidine gluconate when used in alcohol. The randomized clinical trial included 3,360 patients in 3 tertiary care hospitals in Switzerland, 2,187…

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