Editor's Note In this study, the use of a preinduction checklist significantly improved information exchange, knowledge of critical information, and perception of safety in anesthesia teams. A total of 105 teams using the checklist were compared with 100 control teams. The outcome scores for the checklist group vs the controls…

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Editor's Note An aspect of “never events”that is rarely discussed is the emotional toll they take on staff, according to this editorial. In each case, staff experience an enormous amount of emotional trauma, and a significant amount of accusation and stigmatization occurs. It is not enough to prevent and manage…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on September 28, issued a safety alert for cranial perforators with an automatic clutch mechanism. Most cranial perforators are designed to automatically stop drilling after penetrating the skull to prevent the tip from unintentionally drilling into the brain. However this clutch mechanism…

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Editor's Note A heating, ventilating, and air conditioning task force on September 28 issued interim guidance to help health care facilities maintain appropriate temperature and humidity in ORs and sterile processing departments, AHA News reports. The interim guide was developed as the task force is working to achieve consensus on…

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Editor's Note Based on their analysis of systems and processes involved in OR to intensive care unit (ICU) handoffs, researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, and Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, made recommendations to reduce potential for patient harm. These included automated transfer of OR…

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Editor's Note A bundled payment program for total hip replacement was associated with similar total costs, lower posthospital costs, shorter length of stay, and similar or higher quality hospital care, in this study. Compared to controls, bundled payment patients had similar length of stay (3.0 vs 3.4 days), higher rates…

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Editor's Note A Government Accountability Office study finds that although extensive testing of transition to ICD-10 codes has been done, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not know the true functionality of the systems until code processing begins October 1, Becker’s Health IT & CIO Review reports.…

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Editor's Note All lots of sterile products aseptically compounded and packaged by US Compounding have been recalled because of concern by the Food and Drug Administration over a lack of sterility assurance. The sterile products were distributed nationwide between March 14 and September 9, 2015.   Posted 09/24/2015] AUDIENCE: Health…

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Editor's Note Ambulatory surgery centers in California face new regulations and oversight under a new law, which takes effect January 1, 2016. New regulatory requirements include peer-review evaluations every 2 years for physicians and surgeons working in ASCs and unannounced inspections of facilities.   SB 396 makes minor changes to…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission has removed the Life Safety (LS) chapter from the Office-Based Surgery Practices Manual, effective immediately. The revision limits office-based surgery practices to a business occupancy of three or fewer patients at the same time who are rendered incapable of self-preservation in an emergency or are…

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