Hospital margins, ED visits up, length of stay down in April, Kaufman report reveals
Editor's Note The median hospital margin of 3.8% for April is an improvement over the previous month and year-over-year, according to the latest National Hospital Flash Report from Kaufman Hall. Compiled by Kaufman and Syntellis Performance Solutions (now part of Strata), the monthly report analyzes 3 years’ worth of both…
Dialysis patients feasible for kidney donation, transplant outcome study suggests
Editor's Note A retrospective cohort study found transplanting kidneys from donors who underwent dialysis resulted in no long-term differences in graft failure, kidney function, or death, but recipients had significantly higher risk for delayed graft function (DGF). According to a May 23 MedPage Today report on the study, originally published…
Study: Preoperative weight loss offers little benefit for bariatric surgery patients
Editor's Note Research shows perioperative weight loss does not consistently improve outcomes or OR times in patients undergoing primary bariatric procedures, including laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). The findings were published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Using…
HHS: Change Healthcare responsible for cyberattack data breach notifications
Editor's Note Change Healthcare is responsible for notifying affected parties about privacy breaches resulting from the February cyberattack on the company, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced May 31. The announcement took the form of an update to an FAQ webpage from HHS’ Office for Civil…
Type 2 diabetes case cured via stem cell therapy, researchers report
Editor's Note Researchers claim a stem cell transplant cured type 2 diabetes in a 59-year-old man who previously needed multiple daily insulin injections, the South China Morning Post reported May 27. The Chinese researchers behind the reported breakthrough published details of the case April 30 in the journal Cell Discovery.…
Deadline extended, rewards added for Career/Salary Survey
Editor's Note Recognizing that perioperative leaders are busy people, we’ve extended the deadline to participate in the annual OR Manager Career/Salary survey—and we’re sweetening the incentives to include a free Premium Subscription to OR Manager. Now open through June 7, this annual survey yields useful, actionable insights made possible…
Class 1 recall announced for ambulatory infusion pump
Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated OptumHealth Care Solutions’ recall of the Nimbus II ambulatory infusion pumps a class 1, the most severe category indicating risk of serious injury or death. According to the agency’s May 30 announcement, the company recalled the pumps in direct…
Study: Surgeon video consults up since pandemic, but challenges remain
Editor's Note Need for physical examination, technological limitations, care quality concerns, and malpractice risk topped the list of perceived barriers to employing video visits in surgical care in a study published May 10 in the journal Surgery. This study was reportedly the first to comprehensively survey surgeons on their perception…
Millenia-old skulls reveal surgery’s ancient origins
Editor's Note New evidence from skulls in a university collection reveals that brain surgery dates back millennia—potentially as far back as 4,o00 years ago. CNN reported the news May 29. Researchers expressed uncertainty in some cases whether marks on the skulls indicated surgery to treat a living person or an…
COVID-19 pandemic erased decade of global progress on life expectancy
Editor's Note A nearly 2-year drop in global life expectancy from 2019 to 2021 indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic effectively erased decade of progress, according to The World Health Organization’s 2024 World Health Statistics report. According to May 24 Healio report on WHO’s findings, global life expectancy dropped by 1.8…