Data breaches in the healthcare setting are on the rise, according to recent federal statistics. In November 2019, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights reported that 29 data breaches affecting 570,565 patients took place, a notable rise from the more than 311,000 people…

Read More

Over the last 5 years, the perioperative surgical home (PSH) model has attracted increasing interest from OR directors, anesthesiologists, and surgeons. This team-based, patient-centered approach coordinates all phases of surgical care, from preoperative assessment through intraoperative care and postdischarge recovery. According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, PSH initiatives have…

Read More

More than half of respondents to a recent OR Manager reader survey put cost-saving initiatives at the top of their list of important topics, and cost reduction is an ongoing challenge for many OR managers. Leaders at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVH), based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, took a creative approach…

Read More

Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (VCU Health) in Richmond is a Magnet facility, and as such we continually examine innovative ideas to improve the quality, safety, and care of our patients. Evidence has linked Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) with better outcomes, and ERAS has become a focal point at…

Read More

Editor's Note A survey of 500 US healthcare industry leaders conducted by Optum finds that executives are ramping up their implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) efforts, with 62% saying they have adopted AI strategies in their organizations, the March 11 HealthIT Analytics reports. This is a nearly 88% increase from…

Read More

Editor's Note This study of Medicare patients at 340 teaching hospitals and matched patient controls at 2,444 nonteaching hospitals found that as risk of mortality increased, the mortality benefit of treatment at teaching hospitals also increased, though with marginally higher costs. Included in the analysis were 86,751 pairs of general,…

Read More

Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on March 9 released two interoperability rules, which will give patients direct access to their healthcare data. These rules mark the most extensive healthcare data sharing policies the federal government has implemented, requiring public and private entities to share…

Read More

Editor's Note Humana is using artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic processes to help frontline healthcare personnel with daily tasks and to streamline access to patient care, the March 2 Forbes reports. It is testing how to pull information from medical records based on identifying key words in conversations between healthcare…

Read More

Editor's Note This study from Linda Aiken, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, found that high levels of nurse burnout are associated with lower patient satisfaction. In this analysis of nurse burnout and patient satisfaction in 463 hospitals in four states, 50% of the hospitals where burnout…

Read More

Editor's Note In a February 25 telebriefing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) will spread in the US, and hospitals and communities should begin ramping up their preparedness efforts, AHA Today reports. The CDC urged communities to implement non-pharmaceutical interventions or community…

Read More