Editor's Note Increased revenues had a greater impact than decreased costs in hospitals that became more profitable between 2003 and 2013, finds this Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) study published February 14 online ahead of print in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. In this analysis of 2,824…

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Editor's Note In this study led by Martin A. Makary, MD, MPH, professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) was associated with better outcomes than open procedures in the Medicare population. Of 233,984 Medicare patients who had one of seven common surgical…

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Editor's Note A Frost & Sullivan analysis shows adverse patient safety events will cost the US and western Europe $383.7 billion by 2022, the February 26 Becker’s Clinical Leadership & Infection Control reports. These adverse events will lead to an estimated 91.8 million patient hospital admissions and about 1.95 million…

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Editor's Note Using financial data from California’s short-term and specialty hospitals from FY 2005 to FY 2014, researchers from the UCLA School of Medicine provide the first standardized estimates of OR costs. The analysis, which focused on two revenue centers--surgery/recovery and ambulatory surgery--found that the mean cost of OR time…

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Editor's Note Implementation of an enhanced recovery pathway (ERP) for colorectal surgical patients substantially reduced length of stay, total hospital costs, and direct pharmacy costs without increasing complications or readmission rates in this study. The study, which included 160 colorectal patients before ERP was implemented and 146 patients after implementation,…

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Editor's Note Surgeon volume of adult general surgical procedures was significantly associated with lower morbidity and costs after pediatric laparoscopic cholecystectomy in this study. Of 3,519 laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed in pediatric patients, the overall morbidity rate was 3.9%. High-volume general surgeons had an odds of all-cause morbidity that was 68%…

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Efforts in 2017 to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were largely unsuccessful, but a tax reform bill that includes a provision to abolish the ACA’s individual insurance mandate seems likely to pass. As a result, 13 million fewer Americans will be insured by 2027, and premiums will go up…

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Editor's Note Hospitals with the largest reductions in serious complications after bariatric surgery had the greatest decrease in per-patient Medicare payments, this study finds. Analyzing 37,329 Medicare patients undergoing bariatric surgery from 2005 to 2006 and 2013 to 2014, researchers found a strong association between reductions in complications and decreased…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 30 announced a final rule that cancels the mandatory hip fracture and cardiac bundled-payment models, which were to begin on January 1, 2018, and implements changes to the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) Model. In the final…

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Editor's Note Increasing OR ventilation rates to improve outcomes and reduce surgical site infections did not provide cleaner air but did increase operating costs in this study. Air quality was measured at different ventilation rates in three ORs. Increasing air change rates did not provide an overall cleaner environment. Significant…

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