Barriers to medical students pursing a career in surgery
Editor's Note This survey of Harvard Medical School studentsโ perceptions of barriers to a career in surgery found high rates of verbal discouragement and concerns about family aspirations. Of 729 medical students surveyed, 261 completed the questionnaire (58.6% women, 41% men, 0.4% transgender). Results showed: no significant gender difference in…
Joint Commission reviewing CMS final rules on discharge planning, burden reduction
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on October 9 that it is reviewing discharge planning and burden reduction changes announced in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servicesโ (CMS) final rules published September 30. Any changes to Joint Commission accreditation requirements for deemed programs will go through the CMS iterative…
Waste in US healthcare spending, potential for savings
Editor's Note This study finds that the estimated cost of waste in the US health care system ranges from $760 billion to $935 billion and accounts for some 25% of healthcare spending. Projected potential savings from interventions to reduce waste, excluding savings from administrative complexity, range from $191 billion to…
ECRI Instituteโs Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2020
Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on October 7 released its annual safety report identifying the top 10 device hazards in hospitals, medical practices, and homecare for 2020. Topping the list was surgical stapler misuse and malfunction that can lead to patient harm. Third on the list is sterile processing errors…
Poorer surgical outcomes linked to lower socioeconomic status
Editor's Note This study from researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found a consistent, strong association between geographic indicators for socioeconomic status and important surgical outcomes. Of 1,573,740 hospital discharges analyzed, adjusted odds of inpatient mortality significantly increased as geographic distress increased across all measures of geographic risk. The odds of…
Hospital employment up in September
Editor's Note Employment in US hospitals was up 8,100 jobs in September to a seasonally adjusted 5,267,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on October 4. Thatโs up 101,500 more employees than a year ago. Overall, healthcare employment has increased 422,600 in the past year. The overall unemployment rate fell…
PCI vs CABG outcomes for left main coronary disease
Editor's Note In this study of patients with left main coronary disease, there was no significant difference in outcomes at 5 years between treatment with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Researchers randomly assigned 1,905 patients with left main coronary artery disease of low or intermediate…
Will the success of AI in healthcare depend on nurses?
Editor's Note Nurses have always played an important role when new health information technology (IT) has been implemented, and the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and the changes it can bring to healthcare will be no exception, reports the September 27 HealthcareITNews. Though some nurses may view AI as another…
Association between social risk factors and SSIs after colectomy, abdominal hysterectomy
Editor's Note Social risk factors were inconsistently associated with surgical site infection (SSI) rates after colectomy or abdominal hysterectomy in this study. In this analysis of 149,741 patients, Medicaid status (a marker for poverty) and living in a low-income zip code were linked to higher SSI rates after colectomy. For…
Joint Commission launches new Heads-Up Report
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 2 announced that it will be posting new survey readiness resource documents for its ambulatory, behavioral health, home care, nursing care center, and office-based surgery programs. These new Heads-Up Reports will be available October 4 on an organizations secure Joint Commission Connect extranet…