Editor's Note Two home visits by a physician assistant (PA) in the week after discharge significantly reduced the chance that a cardiac surgery patient would be readmitted, finds this study presented January 26 at the annual meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Of 1,185 patients analyzed, those who received…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on January 26 published Quick Safety #20, “Strategies to prevent URFOs.” This Quick Safety builds on Sentinel Event Alert, Issue 51, released October 2013, which addressed the prevention of unintended retained foreign objects (URFOs). URFOs were the most frequent sentinel event reported to the Joint…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 27 announced that Baxter (Deerfield, Illinois) is recalling four lots of IV solutions because of the potential for leaking containers and particulate matter. The recall affects the following: 0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP, 100 mL in Mini-Bag Plus Container (lot…

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Editor's Note A positive safety and teamwork culture and engaged hospital management were associated with lower surgical site infection (SSI) rates after colon surgery in this study. Researchers, led by Martin Makary, MD, from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, measured 12 dimensions of safety culture and colon SSI rates in surgical…

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Editor's Note Last year, government regulators blocked large companies that employ many low-wage workers from claiming that insurance coverage with no inpatient hospital benefits met the Affordable Care Act’s rules. These same companies are now purporting to meet the rules with plans that exclude outpatient surgery, the January 21 Washington Post…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 26 published draft guidance for “Design considerations and premarket submission recommendations for interoperable medical devices” to assist medical device manufacturers in designing products that are interoperable and can securely share data. The draft includes factors to consider when developing the…

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Editor's Note This Canadian study finds that transformational leadership practices lead to high quality care and increased retention of new nurses. Conversely, abusive managers lead to poorer quality care and a strong intention for nurses to leave healthcare facilities and quit the nursing profession. The authors surveyed a sample of…

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Editor's Note Preoperative frailty was associated with a significantly increased risk of 1-year mortality after surgery, this study finds. Of nearly 203,000 patients included in the analysis, 6,289 were frail. Within 1 year of surgery, 13.6% of the frail and 4.8% of the nonfrail patients died. The association between frailty…

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Editor's Note Abbott’s Compounding Pharmacy (Berkeley, California) is recalling all lots of sterile compounded products because of concerns of lack of sterility assurance. Products include injectable medications, sterile solutions, eye drops, and eye ointments. The recall was issued after a series of onsite inspections by the Food and Drug Administration…

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Editor's Note Nearly 300 patients who had colonoscopies at Baystate Noble Hospital in Westfield, Massachusetts, may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis because of a lack of adequate disinfection measures used to clean endoscopes, the January 23 Tech Times reports. The hospital started using new equipment that required a…

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