Joint Commission seeking comments on new advanced hip, knee replacement standards
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 16 announced that it was seeking comments on proposed standards for the Advanced Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement Certification program for hospitals, critical access hospitals, and ambulatory surgery centers. The new standards were developed to further promote patient safety and quality of…
Joint Commission: Revisions to Office-Based Surgery Accreditation program
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced October 16 that several elements of performance for the Office-Based Surgery Accreditation program have been revised, effective January 1, 2020. The revisions, which are in the Environment of Care chapter, were made to align with 2012 Life Safety Code requirements and updated National Fire…
Effects of MINDBODYSTRONG program on newly licensed RNs
Editor's Note This study found that the MINDBODYSTRONG for Healthcare Professionals program has excellent potential as an intervention for improving the mental health, healthy lifestyle beliefs and behaviors, and job satisfaction in newly licensed RNs. Of 89 new RNs (divided into two groups, intervention and control) participating in a nurse…
UC San Diego expands Center for Future of Surgery
Editor's Note The University of California San Diego School of Medicine announced October 14 that it has expanded its Center for the Future of Surgery, one of few facilities in the world that teaches surgery in high-tech simulated ORs. This fall, the 22,000 sq-ft center added a new hybrid OR…
Pulmonary embolism risk more than 6 weeks after surgery
Editor's Note In this French study, the risk of postoperative pulmonary embolism was elevated beyond 6 weeks regardless of the type of procedure. This analysis of 60,703 patients who had one of six types of surgery (ie, vascular, GYN, GI, hip or knee replacement, fractures, and other orthopedic procedures) found…
FDA: Class I recall of Medtronicโs 6 French Sherpa NX Active Guide Catheters
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on October 8 announced the recall by Medtronic of all models of its 6 French Sherpa NX Active Guide Catheters. Medtronic is recalling the catheters because of the risk of the outer material separating from the device, resulting in detached fragments that…
Factors affecting patient satisfaction with anesthesiologist
Editor's Note This survey of patients' satisfaction with their anesthesiologists found that some factors governing satisfaction are beyond the ability of the anesthesiologist to control. Of 629,220 patients administered the โAnesthesia Patient Satisfaction Questionnaireโ 51,676 patients responded for a 9.3% response rate. After multivariate regression analysis, no patient or procedural…
Joint Commission: 2020 National Patient Safety Goals now available
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on Octobere 9 that the 2020 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) are now available on its website. Included are the revised elements of performance โNPSG.15.01.01: Reduce the risk for suicideโ that went into effect earlier this year. The new requirements are designed to improve…
Identifying postop complications using EHR data and machine learning
Editor's Note Using machine learning on electronic health record (EHR) postoperative data linked to the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) outcomes data, researchers developed a model with 163 predictors of postoperative complications at the University of Colorado Hospital. Of 6,840 patients analyzed with the…
CMS proposes to revise physician anti-kickback rules
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 9 announced proposed changes to how it enforces the Physician Self-Referral Law (ie, Stark Law), which penalizes physicians and other healthcare providers for referring patients to outside services they could stand to benefit from financially. The proposed rule…