Editor's Note In this study, major teaching hospital status was associated with lower mortality rates for common medical and surgical conditions, compared with nonteaching hospitals. The analysis of 21.4 million hospitalizations of Medicare patients at 4,483 hospitals (250 major teaching, 894 minor teaching, and 3,339 nonteaching) found that 30-day mortality…

Read More

Editor's Note Early postoperative discharge after major inpatient surgery was associated with lower total surgical episode payments in this study. In this analysis of 639,943 Medicare beneficiaries undergoing colectomy, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), or total hip replacement, payments were significantly lower in hospitals with lowest vs highest length of…

Read More

Editor's Note A GlobalData analysis predicts the US artificial disc replacement market will double by 2023, reaching $614.5 million, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.2%, the May 17 Becker’s Spine Review reports. The growth is a result of the increasing number of degenerative spine conditions and the advantages…

Read More

Editor's Note In 2014, 58% of the 17.2 million hospital-based surgical procedures took place in outpatient settings, according to a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The report, which helps to quantify ongoing shifts to more outpatient surgical procedures, found that the most common outpatient procedures…

Read More

Fine-tuning physician preference cards to reduce instrument use and sterilization is a well-known way to cut costs, but one that is often hard to implement. At Bassett Healthcare (Cooperstown, New York), we had success with a simple intervention involving collaboration with nearly 50 surgeons across multiple departments. We reviewed more…

Read More

Linens and textiles may not be as exciting as the latest spinal device or miracle drug, but they are a mainstay of every healthcare setting. Quality matters, and costs associated with these high-use items can make a difference in a facility’s overall expenses. It’s essential to evaluate the best way…

Read More

Editor's Note Inspired by aviation and medical best practices for handling crises, researchers have developed a Stress-APGAR protocol to help managers anticipate burnout in employees, according to the April 26 Harvard Business Review. The Stress-APGAR acronym includes five key areas: Appearance: How does the employee look−overly tired, changes in weight,…

Read More

Editor's Note Delos Marshall “Toby” Cosgrove, MD, will step down as CEO of the Cleveland Clinic by the end of the year, the May 1 Cleveland.com reports. Dr Cosgrove will stay on in an advisory role, and his successor will be a practicing physician, keeping up with the Clinic’s history…

Read More

Editor's Note An analysis by Absolute Reports predicts the global lumbar spine fusion market will see a 4.9% compound annual growth rate through the next 4 years, according to the April 26 Becker’s Spine Review. Driving market growth is: a growing demand for minimally invasive spine surgeries an increasing incidence…

Read More

Editor's Note In this study, the use of preoperative and postoperative elements of a Perioperative Surgical Home model in total knee and hip patients was associated with improvements in operational outcomes. The study included 1,225 patients in a preintervention PSH group and 1,363 in a postintervention PSH group. Compared with…

Read More