VA recommends increasing its number of ASCs
Editor's Note On March 14, the Biden administration released a recommendation via the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to restructure the VA healthcare system. OR Manager reported on the potential impact the recommended changes would have on VA services, which include older hospitals with unused inpatient beds being replaced…
Establishing service lines in ambulatory surgery centers
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the healthcare industry could fill an entire academic curriculum at this point, let alone a single article. But one potential silver lining among the storms of bad news is the increasing migration of elective procedures from hospitals to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Although…
WHO: Takeaways on how 19 countries maintained health services during COVID-19
Editor's Note A December 2021 World Health Organization (WHO) report examines how 19 countries mitigated COVID-19’s effects on providing maternal; newborn; child and adolescent; and aging health services, JAMA Network March 15 reports. The WHO data comes from an initiative lasting from May 2020 to February 2021, during which groups…
Key items for cardiovascular, peripheral vascular service lines
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are ramping up cardiovascular and peripheral vascular service lines, as Medicare offers payment for a growing number of cardiac procedures and accrediting bodies offer support for this methodology. In 2021, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission reported that the number of ASCs billing Medicare for cardiology procedures…
NIH begins clinical trial of three mRNA vaccines for HIV
Editor's Note According to a March 14 news release from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) launched a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating three experimental HIV vaccines using the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. The mRNA technology being tested is the same…
A systemic approach to cardiac service line safety
Among Surgical Care Affiliates’ (SCA) 260-plus facilities in the US, at least 10% have added cardiovascular/peripheral vascular service capabilities. SCA experts anticipate more growth in this area. However, any successful launch starts with an organizational focus on patient safety, says Ezra Erb, vice president for clinical quality at SCA, which…
AORN guideline open for public comment
Editor's Note The AORN Guideline for Medical Device and Product Evaluation is now open for public comment. The public comment period will close on April 1. This guideline, according to the AORN website, “provides guidance to perioperative team members for developing and implementing a process to evaluate US Food and…
AORN updates RSI guidelines
Editor's Note At the 2022 AORN Global Surgical Conference and Expo last week, AORN announced an update to its retained surgical items (RSI) guidance in a session presentation titled, “RSI Guideline, Update 2022,” led by Julie Cahn, DNP, RN, CNOR, RN-BC, ACNS-BC, CNS-CP, AORN senior perioperative practice specialist. This marks…
Nine states see rise in COVID-19 cases
Editor's Note According to the New York Times, which collected data from the US Department of Health and Human Services, COVID-19 cases have decreased nationwide in the last 2 weeks, Becker’s Hospital Review March 24 reports. However, the same data set shows that the number of COVID-19 cases have actually…
Cybersecurity advisory alert: Vulnerabilities with authentication methods
Editor's Note On March 15, the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recommended all organizations take action to “enable, enforce, and properly configure” their multifactor authentication (MFA) protocols, the American Hospital Association (AHA) March 16 reports. Russian state-sponsored actors are reportedly exploiting known vulnerabilities in MFA protocols, including…