Editor's Note The American Hospital Association Center for Health Innovation Market Scan blog, on July 26, identified the top 5 things Gen Z (those born between 1996 and 2910) healthcare workers want from their employers. They are: Tech-driven facilities—Gen Z workers expect employers to use the latest technology to improve…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at Good Samaritan Medical Center, Brockton, Massachusetts, and Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, examines the clinical outcomes and costs of robotic and open ventral hernia repairs. A total of 675 open and 609 robotic ventral hernia repairs were included in the analysis.…

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Editor's Note The US News & World Report, on August 1, released its 2023-2024 Best Hospitals Honor Roll. Just 22 hospitals out of nearly 5,000 evaluated for the Best Hospitals rankings and ratings made the Honor Roll, which examines hospitals in more than 30 medical and surgical services. In alphabetical…

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Editor's Note This Canadian study finds a 1.5-fold increase in costs in the year after major, elective noncardiac surgery for patients with preoperative frailty. A total of 171,576 patients (23,219 with preoperative frailty) were included in the analysis. Unadjusted costs were higher for frail patients. After adjusting for confounders, an…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, finds that telemedicine use is associated with lower direct medical costs. A total of 2,938 outpatient department visits and 20,204 office-based visits were included in the analysis. Of these 47.6% of outpatient department and 24.7% of office-based visits…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) announced, on July 26, that it and 18 other surgical organizations sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), strongly opposing implementation of its code G2211. The G2211 code is an effort by CMS to pay more for…

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Editor's Note Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data is showing an uptick in COVID-19 positivity rates and emergency department visits after months of decline, according to the July 24 US News and World Report. Cases of the Omicron subvariant EG.5, which was recently added to the World Health…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on July 20, announced that it will eliminate and consolidate 200 additional standards, following the first reduction announced last year. Among the changes: Critical Access Hospitals: Of 150 in-scope elements of performance (EPs), 31 were deleted or consolidated, for a 15% reduction Office-Based Surgery: Of…

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Editor's Note People born between 1965 and 1980, known as Generation X, are not prepared financially for retirement, according to a study from the National Institute on Retirement Security. Those with a private retirement plan have about $40,000 in savings, lower income Gen Xers have about $4,300, and some 40%…

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Editor's Note On July 14 and 15, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) hosted a virtual event, the Anesthesia Quality and Patient Safety Meeting, which brought to light new research on when to administer epidural anesthesia in the OR, an anesthesiologist-led infection prevention program reducing rates of surgical site infections…

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