Joint Commission evaluating revisions to USP General Chapter <797>
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on June 12 announced that it is reviewing the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) revisions to its General Chapter <797> Pharmaceutical CompoundingโSterile Preparations. The Joint Commission is evaluating the effect of the revisions on its accredited organizations and plans to issue guidance and updated survey…
Hospital staffing models associated with failure to rescue rates
Editor's Note Hospitals with low failure to rescue (FTR) rates had significantly more staffing resources than hospitals with high FTR rates, this study finds. In this analysis of 44,567 surgical patients in the Michigan Quality Surgical Collaborative, hospital FTR rates across low, middle and high tertiles were 8.9%, 16.5%, and…
Missouri hospitals report all-time-high employee turnover
Editor's Note Missouri hospitals reported an all-time-high employee turnover rate of 19.5% this year in a report released by the Missouri Hospital Association (MHA). Among the positions with the highest turnover rates: sterile processing technicians, 20.4% surgical technicians, 16.0% staff nurses, 15.2% physician assistants, 15.2%. Hospitals and other stakeholders are…
Association of TAVR for bicuspid vs tricuspid aortic stenosis with mortality, stroke
Editor's Note In this study, patients who had transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for bicuspid compared with tricuspid aortic stenosis had no significant difference in mortality, but they had a 30-day increased risk of stroke. In this cohort of 2,691 matched pairs of patients having TAVR for bicuspid vs tricuspid…
CMS seeking comments on Patients over Paperwork initiative
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced June 6 that it is seeking new ideas on how to continue the progress of its Patients over Paperwork initiative. The initiative, which was launched in fall of 2017, has already cut the โred tapeโ that weighs down the…
Operative outcomes of new vs experienced surgeons
Editor's Note The majority of differences in outcomes between new and experiences surgeons are associated with the context in which care is delivered and patient complexity, rather than inexperience, this study finds. A total of 694,165 Medicare patients treated by 8,503 experienced surgeons were matched to 68,036 treated by 2,119…
Hospital employment up 3,000 jobs in May
Editor's Note US hospitals added 3,000 jobs in May to a seasonally adjusted 5,231,600, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported June 7. Thatโs up 103,100 more employees than a year ago. Overall, healthcare employment has increased 390,500 in the past year. The overall unemployment rate remained at a 50-year low…
Welcome to the first issue of ASC Manager
Welcome to the first issue of OR Managerโs Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC)-focused supplement: ASC Manager. This supplement will be inserted quarterly and is a new benefit for subscribers. The ASC market is projected to inยญcrease from $36 billion in 2018 to $40 billion by 2020 according to a recent market…
Improved reporting system increases disruptive behavior reports
Editor's Note After implementing an improved reporting system for disruptive behavior that included the ability to report positive behaviors, the number and length of reports increased in this study. Researchers compared reports in the Patient Safety Net (PSN) event reporting system (2010-2015) to the RL Solutions RL6 system (2015-2018), which…
AHRQ opens enrollment for hospitals to implement enhanced recovery pathways
Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons on June 6 called for interested hospitals to join a new cohort of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery (ISCR). In the program, presented in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Medicine Armstrong Institute…