WHO: Dire need to deal with huge volumes of COVID-19 medical waste
Editor's Note Tons of extra medical waste generated in response to COVID-19 has put tremendous strain on healthcare waste management systems, threatening human and environmental health, according to a February 1 World Health Organization (WHO) report. In this global analysis WHO says: A large share of 87,000 tons of personal…
AHA: Pandemic-allowed waivers that should be extended, formalized
Editor's Note The American Hospital Association (AHA) released a new fact sheet describing various waivers issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) during the COVID-19 pandemic that AHA opines should be extended or made permanent, as reported by the January 31 Healthcare Purchasing News. The waivers relate…
Ureteroscope Reprocessing Effectiveness
Each year, there are more studies raising concerns about infections associated with endoscopic procedures and the techniques used to clean and sterilize or high-level disinfect (HLD) endoscopic devices. This whitepaper, sponsored by Boston Scientific, epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, President and CEO of Ofstead & Associates, St Paul, Minnesota, presents…
Reducing OR time for elective procedures helps address staffing shortages
Editor's Note Reducing OR time availability at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, Pittsburgh, by 15% helped address a 30% staffing shortage caused by COVID-19, according to a study presented January 29 at the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ ADVANCE 2022, the Anesthesiology Business Event in Dallas. A five-phase approach was used, which included:…
FDA: Update on Class I recall of certain Philips Respironics ventilators, repair kits
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 26 updated the Class I recall of certain Trilogy Evo ventilators and repair kits for Trilogy Evo muffler assembly, which are manufactured by Philips Respironics. According to the update, the FDA has asked the company to have an independent laboratory…
Johns Hopkins robot performs first laparoscopic intestinal anastomosis without human help
Editor's Note The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR), designed by a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University, has performed laparoscopic intestinal anastomoses in four experiments on pig tissue without human help. The robot outperformed surgeons using manual-laparoscopic and robot-assisted surgical techniques in the consistency of suture spacing and bite…
Creating work schedules with AI reduces physician burnout
Editor's Note Artificial intelligence (AI)-based scheduling significantly improved physician engagement and reduced burnout, in this study presented by Ochsner Health researchers, January 28, at the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ ADVANCE 2022, the Anesthesiology Business Event, in Dallas. The AI-based scheduling software, which created fair and flexible schedules that supported work-life…
Latest survey shows racism prevalent in nursing
Editor's Note On January 25, 2022, the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing released the results from a survey of more than 5,600 nurses, which were published by the American Nurses Association (ANA). According to the results, racism is a “substantial problem” within nursing. Health Leaders, in an article…
Lung transplant for COVID-19-related respiratory failure
Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, finds that from August 2020 through September 2021, 7% of lung transplantations in the US were performed in patients with COVID-19-related respiratory failure. In this analysis of 3,039 lung transplants, 214 were…
The Joint Commission adds new HCSS performance measures
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on January 26 that it will add four new performance measures to four recently revised Health Care Staffing Services (HCSS) measures. The new measures will be used to report staff turnover rates and track reasons for staff turnover. The new performance measures apply to…