AONE announces name change
Editor's Note The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) on May 5 announced that it is changing its name to the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL). The name change, which was announced at AONEโs annual meeting, also comes with a new taglineโEducation Advocacy Community. The organization says the new…
Effect of ACA on ED visits, hospital discharges
Editor's Note Though emergency department (ED) visits and hospital discharges by uninsured patients decreased after implementation of the Affordable Care Act, 1 in 10 ED visits and 1 in 20 hospital discharges were still made by uninsured patients from 2014 to 2016, this study finds. ย There were 1.4 million…
Hospital employment up 8,300 jobs in April
Editor's Note USย hospitals added 8,300 jobs in April to a seasonally adjusted 5,229,200, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on May 3. Thatโs up 105,700 more employees than a year ago. Overall, healthcare employment has increased 403,500 in the past year. The overall unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in April…
Association between nurse work environment and outcomes
Editor's Note The nurse work environment is associated with the quality of nursing care, nurse job outcomes, patient outcomes, and patient satisfaction, this study finds. This meta-analysis of 17 articles that reported data from 2,677 hospitals, 141 nursing units, 165,024 nurses, and 1,368,420 patients, in 22 countries found consistent, significant…
National Nurses Week is May 6-12
Editor's Note National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6 and ends on May 12, Florence Nightingaleโs birthday. National Nurses Week is celebrated annually to raise awareness of the important role nurses play in society. This yearโs theme is โFour Million Reasons to Celebrate.โ The American Nurses Association has…
Use of TAVR in low-risk patients
Editor's Note In this study of low-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis, outcomes were significantly better at 1 year follow-up with transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) than surgical aortic-valve replacement. In 1,000 patients at 71 centers who were randomized to undergo either TAVR or surgical aortic-valve replacement, the rate of the…
BD receives FDA approval for sterile CHG skin prep solution
Editor's Note Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) announced on April 30 that it had received Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval for BD ChloraPrep skin preparation with sterile solution. This new product is the only fully sterile chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) antiseptic skin preparation commercially available in the US. The FDAโs…
Diabetics have higher risks for readmissions, mortality
Editor's Note Patients with diabetes who had low blood glucose values during the last day of hospitalization had higher rates of 30-day readmission and post discharge mortality, this study finds. Examining 843,978 admissions to the VA health care system over a 14-year period, researchers found that ย patients with diabetes who…
HHS lowers maximum penalties for HIPAA violations
Editor's Note The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on April 26 announced it is lowering the maximum civil penalty for healthcare providers, health plans, and business associates who violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), based on the level of culpability. A 2013 rule created four…
Trends, factors linked to physician burnout
Editor's Note Physician burnout has reached a critically high level, fueled by regulatory, compliance, and technology demands, but health system leaders at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston are working to address and relieve burnout and bring the joy back to the practice of medicine with centrally and locally designed…