Editor's Note A post hoc analysis of the SCOT phase 3 randomized clinical trial reveals that initiating adjuvant chemotherapy more than 6 weeks after surgery is linked to worse disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with high-risk stage II and stage III colorectal cancer. Published June 12 in JAMA Surgery, the…

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Editor's Note The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency, according to a CNN article published a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned about increasing activity for seasonal respiratory virus parvovirus B19. WHO issued the emergency…

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Editor's Note At last year’s OR Manager Conference, healthcare leader Karen Reiter, RN, CNOR, RNFA, CASC, shared her expertise on integrating complex spine procedures into ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). As the former administrator at DISC Surgery Center at Newport Beach and vice president of operations and payer management at TriasMD,…

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Editor's Note A new low for median days cash-on hand could spell trouble for US nonprofit hospitals and health systems, Healthcare Dive reported August 12. “Nonprofit hospitals’ cash on hand — the funds immediately available to finance daily operations — is one indicator of financial health,” the outlet reports. “Low cash…

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Editor's Note A dispute over cameras in ORs reportedly added tension to nurse strike negotiations that recently culminated in a tentative agreement with union nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. According to an August 7 CBS News report, the OR cameras are intended to assist with robotic surgeries.…

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Editor's Note This new multicenter study published by the Heart Rhythm Society on August 5 found that ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) offer a safe and effective setting for performing various cardiac electrophysiology procedures, including catheter ablation (CA). The research, which retrospectively analyzed 4,037 procedures, highlights the viability of ASCs as…

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Editor's Note Optimizing patient positioning can help reduce the risk of surgical site infections due to airborne contaminants in positive-pressure ORs, according to a study published August 12 in Nature: Scientific Reports. Maintaining higher pressure than adjacent spaces prevents entry of contaminants from environments external to the OR. For this…

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Editor's Note Advocates of legislation to make physically assaulting healthcare workers a federal crime spoke out at a recent press conference hosted by the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), MedPage Today reported August 2. The Safety From Violence for Healthcare Employees Act (SAVE…

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Editor's Note A study published August 6 in the journal Surgery highlights the impact of structured debriefing tools on improving communication and patient safety in the OR during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducted over three years, the study implemented a new electronic health record (EHR) module to document surgical debriefings and…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on July 31 it has secured renewed deeming approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for its Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Accreditation Program. This renewed approval is effective from September 1, 2024, through September 1, 2030, the maximum term allowed by…

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