Editor's Note The Joint Commission and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are collaborating on an initiative to adapt, enhance, and disseminate CDC infection prevention guidance in a variety of free-standing and ambulatory healthcare settings. The Joint Commission will select and work with 12 outpatient-focused professional organizations and…

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Editor's Note A few calming words from an anesthesiologist are as effective as medication in relaxing patients before anesthesia and surgery, finds research presented at the Anesthesiology 2015 annual meeting. Researchers compared conversational hypnosis (ie, talking quietly and positively and focusing the patient’s attention on something other than the upcoming…

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Editor's Note A Nielsen survey of 5,000 healthcare recipients found that 15% (aged 18 to 65) communicate with providers through e-mails, 21% schedule appointments online, and 9% get text reminders, the Washington Post reports. Among those who do not communicate electronically, 36% were interested in online appointment scheduling, and 34%…

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Editor's Note Quality improvement initiatives combined with pulsed xenon ultraviolet room disinfection reduced total knee surgical site infections (SSIs) from four to zero and total hip SSIs from three to zero for a combined prevention of seven SSIs and a savings of $290,990 in 1 year at Trinity Medical Center,…

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Editor's Note Quest Medical, Inc (Allen, Texas), on October 28 initiated a nationwide recall of its Myocardial Protection System delivery sets, Models 5001102, 5001102-AS, and 7001102 of specified lots. The sets have shown possible seal failure along the blood source channel of the main pump cassette, resulting in blood loss…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) has recognized 52 of 517 participating hospitals for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2014. Recognized hospitals are deemed “meritorious” for their composite quality scores in eight surgical care outcome areas. Hospitals are required…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rejection rate of Medicare fee-for-service claims submitted with the new ICD-10 codes was 10.1% in October. Invalid use of ICD-9 codes resulted in the rejection of 0.11%, and 2% were not accepted because of invalid or incomplete information. More information…

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Editor's Note On October 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final 2016 payment rule for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). ASC payment rates will increase by 0.3%, which is based on a projected inflation rate of 0.8% minus a 0.5% productivity adjustment required by the Affordable…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its final rules detailing how it will pay for services provided by physicians and other healthcare professionals in 2016. Key policies finalized in the rules include: Updates to the “Two-Midnight” rule, which clarifies when inpatient admissions are appropriate…

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Editor's Note Almost 200 healthcare organizations sent letters to Congress urging members to restore funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The House Appropriations Committee in June voted to eliminate the research agency, and the Senate Appropriations Committee proposed a 35% cut to AHRQ’s budget. The letters…

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