Hospital employment up in November
Editor's Note Employment in US hospitals was up 9,900 jobs in November to a seasonally adjusted 5,283,200, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on December 6. That’s up 94,300 more employees than a year ago. Overall, healthcare employment has increased 414,200 in the past year. The overall unemployment rate fell…
Bariatric surgery improves the heart
Editor's Note Bariatric surgery provides more benefits for obese patients than weight loss; it also reverses subclinical heart dysfunction, finds this study presented December 5 at EuroEcho 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Vienna, Austria. The study included 38 obese patients who had bariatric surgery…
Joint Commission: Password reset coming for single sign-on access to website
Editor's Note: The Joint Commission announced on December 4 that it will soon unveil a new website design with a single sign-on for multiple sites, including Joint Commission Connect, Targeted Solutions tool, and the Joint Commission Resources webstore. When the new website launches, users will be prompted to reset their…
Patient, personnel, induction factors that affect OR start times
Editor's Note Though patient and personnel factors affect the order of case induction, induction time is most dependent on patient factors, this study finds. Of 15,823 cases analyzed, predictors of later patient induction included add-on case, ASA class 3 or more, neuraxial anesthesia, and CRNA staffing. In 11,093 (70.1%) cases,…
CDC releases 2019 report on antibiotic resistance threats
Editor's Note More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the US each year, resulting in more than 35,000 deaths, according to a new “Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States 2019” report from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). The CDC also notes that 223,900 cases of…
Association of duty hour reform with outcomes of patients treated by new surgeons
Editor's Note Duty hour reform had no significant effect on 30-day mortality achieved by new vs experienced surgeons, but there was an increase in resources needed for patient care after reform, this study finds. A total of 1,483,074 Medicare patients having general and orthopedic surgery were analyzed before and after…
GE Healthcare introduces new AI, imaging systems
Editor's Note GE Healthcare introduced the newest advancements in its Edison artificial intelligence (AI) programs and new imaging systems at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting, the December 2 AuntMinnie.com reports. GE designed the Edison Open AI Orchestrator to simplify AI implementation and support of multiple AI applications…
AI algorithms predict mortality after traumatic brain injury
Editor's Note Two artificial intelligence-based algorithms predicted the probability of a patient dying in the ICU within 30 days of traumatic brain injury with accuracies up to 81% and 84%, in this study from Finland. The first algorithm is based on objective monitor data, and the second one includes data…
FDA: B. Braun recalls blood administration sets
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on November 26 announced a voluntary recall by B. Braun Medical (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) of 22 lots of blood administration sets. The recall was initiated because of the potential for leakage at the joint between the blood filters and tubing. This could force…
Data-use practices linked to successful implementation of ERPs
Editor's Note In this study, the most important data-use practice associated with successful implementation of enhanced recovery pathways (ERPs) was data feedback to frontline providers of process and outcome measures. Of 140 hospitals analyzed, 52% reported previous ERP implementation, with wide variations in data-use practices. Feedback of process and outcome…