Editor's Note Urological procedures performed in children at non-high volume hospitals were associated with a higher overall rate of National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) identified postoperative complications, compared with high volume hospitals (11.6% vs 9.3%), in this study. After adjusting for confounding factors, patients at non-high volume hospitals were…

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Editor's Note The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association on July 7 posted a quality reporting alert that provides instructions on required reporting that all Medicare-certified ASCs must submit to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ASC Quality Reporting Program by August 15. ASCs must report on five measures (ASC-6 through…

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Editor's Note Ulcerative colitis patients who have surgery to treat their disease live longer than those who are treated with medications, this study finds. Analyzing Medicare/Medicaid data on nearly 33,000 patients with ulcerative colitis, mortality rates were 34/1,000 person-years for colectomy and 54/1,000 person-years for medical therapy, thus showing that…

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Editor's Note Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospitals, Philadelphia, have created a clinical pathway to identify obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in hospitalized patients with known risks. The pathway involved a questionnaire and overnight pulse-oximetry testing. Patients with a high oxygen desaturation index were recommended to undergo overnight polysomnography. Of those…

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Editor's Note Medtronic has agreed to buy RF Surgical Systems for $235 million. The technology embeds radio frequency tags in surgical sponges, towels, and other products to help track and prevent them from being retained in the patient after surgical procedures.   Medtronic agreed to pay $235 million to buy…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering on July 14 launched the new Physical Environment portal. The portal provides online resources and tools to help hospitals improve compliance with the eight most challenging Joint Commission Life Safety and Environment of Care standards. Upcoming education modules…

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Editor's Note There are no federal regulations or quality measures that address cell phone use in the OR, but some say the time for clear-cut guidelines has come. They cite errors and lax safety procedures that have resulted from physicians and nurses distracted by cell phone use. But others point…

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Editor's Note The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Infectious Diseases Society of  America have updated the 2008 Strategies to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Acute care Hospitals. The evidence-based recommendations include 15 strategies for SSI prevention and a special section on implementation that emphasizes a team-based approach…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission is urging accredited hospitals to share their performance measure solutions in the Core Measure Solution Exchange (CSME). CSME is an interactive, online, peer-to-peer collaborative network where hospitals that have attained excellent performance on core measures, including accountability measures, can share their success stories. To date,…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration has issued a draft guidance to describe its premarket regulatory requirements and performance testing needed to support liquid barrier claims for gowns used in health care settings. In the past, a number of terms have been used to refer to gowns intended for…

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