Editor's Note A surgical comanagement hospitalist program reduced complications, length of stay, 30-day readmissions, number of consultants, and cost of care in this study. There was no significant changed in patient satisfaction and the average savings was $2,642 to $4,303 per patient. This retrospective study by researchers from Stanford University…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are recommending using unique device identifiers (UDIs) in universal health insurance claims forms to improve value-based reimbursement for medical devices and postmarket surveillance, the July 14 Modern Healthcare reports. Proponents say UDIs could help…

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Editor's Note Patients who have bariatric surgery at nonaccredited bariatric surgical centers are 1.4 times likelier to have serious complications and more than twice as likely to die after the procedure compared to those who have surgery in accredited centers, this study finds. In this review of more than 1.5…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 14 published the 2017 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System policy changes, quality provisions, and payment rates proposed rule.  Among the proposals:  an increase in OPPS payment rates by 1.55%--a combination…

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Editor's Note This study finds that physicians who use electronic health records (EHRs) have higher rates of burnout and are more likely to be dissatisfied with their jobs because of the amount of time spent completing computerized medical forms. The findings, based on a survey of 6,375 physicians, found that…

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Editor's Note Hospital readmission app could save billions An award-winning app developed by graduate students at Binghamton University, State University of New York, could help reduce readmission rates and save the healthcare industry billions. The Android-based mobile app called “Post Discharge Treatment and Readmission Predictor,” creates a special messaging service…

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After a 10-year journey, Cassendra Munro’s Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Scale for Perioperative Patients (Munro Scale) is available for use in the perioperative setting and has been added to the AORN Prevention of Pressure Ulcers Tool Kit. “It is the most comprehensive risk assessment tool available for use by the…

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Orthopedic services are evolving. Total joint patients are younger and healthier, the technology has improved, and procedures are moving to the ambulatory setting. The desire for same-day discharge has raised the bar for provider performance and increased competition among facilities that are adding total joints to their service lines. Younger…

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The Hospital Safety Score, issued twice yearly, uses national performance measures from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the American Hospital Association. Leapfrog rated 2,571 hospitals on their ability…

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Some healthcare facility leaders have managed to reduce or even eliminate the incidence of retained surgical items (RSIs), but vulnerability remains despite increased focus on this problem. A 2015 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association cited a median estimate for RSIs: one event per 10,000 procedures, with…

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