Undercover agents bought fraudulent nursing degrees for $17,000
Editor's Note Between 2016 and 2021, some 7,600 fraudulent nursing degrees were sold to individuals so they could qualify to sit for the National Council of State Boards of Nursing exam (NCLEX), the February 27 Yahoo News reports. NCLEX is a rigorous exam that usually takes about 5 hours to…
Comparison of COVID-19 transmission in nightlife, household, healthcare settings
Editor's Note This Japanese study finds nightlife settings to be associated with more transmissions of COVID-19 than household or healthcare settings. Of 44,054 confirmed COVID-19 cases, more than 6,600 transmission settings were identified. Nightlife (18.9%) and healthcare (36.2%) settings were more likely to involve five or more cases, compared with…
Study: Why nurses stay, why they leave
Editor's Note This study by nurse researchers at Pennsylvania-based Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, and Waynesburg University, finds how a stay interview affords nurse leaders a way to find out why nurses stay or leave. After implementing a tool kit, nurse leaders conducted 75 stay interviews with cardiothoracic telemetry and cardiothoracic…
Joint statement issued on digital health data exchange of SDOH assessments
Editor's Note The Joint Commission, National Committee for Quality Assurance, and National Quality Forum announced, February 22, the release of a joint statement on digital health data exchange of social determinants of health (SDOH) assessments. The statement begins with: “Collecting and exchanging data on SDOH connects individuals, healthcare organizations, and…
AHA Fellowship projects address delirium, workforce challenges, elderly care, heart disease
Editor's Note Capstone projects by the 2021-22 cohort of American Hospital Association’s Next Generation Leaders Fellowship focused on improving gaps in education and patient care. The year-long capstone projects focus on key issues and challenges affecting healthcare affordability, cost, quality, and safety. Among the 2021-22 projects were delirium in the…
ASAP model reduces early lung cancer treatment to one day
Editor's Note Sutter Health’s San Francisco-based California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) has reduced early lung cancer treatment to just 1 day with the help of robotic-assisted bronchoscopy technology, Becker’s Hospital Review February 23 reports. The Assisted Single Anesthetic Procedure (ASAP) allows for multiple procedures to be performed in succession during…
Association of preop frailty assessment with 1-year postop mortality
Editor's Note This study from the University of Pittsburgh finds that preoperative frailty screening was associated with significantly reduced 1-year postoperative mortality. A total of 50,463 patients (22,722 before implementation of a frailty assessment initiative and 27,741 after implementation) with at least 1-year of postoperative follow-up were included in the…
Update to Class I recall of GE HealthCare’s Nuclear Medicine 600/800 Series systems
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 22 updated the Class I recall of GE HealthCare’s Nuclear Medicine 600/800 Series systems. The recall was initiated by GE HealthCare after identifying an issue with two mechanisms that prevent uncontrolled detector movement—a risk that the ball screw, which serves…
Rates, risk factors, costs of SSIs after TKA
Editor's Note This study led by the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, examines the longitudinal rates, risk factors, and costs of superficial and deep incisional surgical site infections (SSIs) after primary and revision total knee arthroplasties (TKAs). A total of 26,097 primary TKA patients and 3,663 revision TKA patients were…
The Joint Commission announces opening of CY 2022 Direct Data Submission Platform
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 22 announced the opening of the CY 2022 Direct Data Submission Platform. The opening had been delayed to improve its stability. The delay extends submission deadlines for CY 2022 data and delays the opening of the platform for CY 2023 data. The new…