FDA Pre-Cert Pilot Program to promote more efficient review of digital health innovations
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 7 issued a statement from Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, on the agencyโs new actions under the Digital Health Pre-Certification (Pre-Cert) Pilot Program to promote a more efficient framework for the review of safe and effective digital health innovations. Because digital…
OR gowning technique may lead to contamination of surgeon
Editor's Note To reduce contamination of the surgeon in the OR, the two-person gowning technique must be highly monitored, or the single-person gowning technique should be used, finds this study from the department of orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City. For the…
Healthcare executives investing more in data analytics, AI
Editor's Note A survey by NewVantage Partners finds that 77% of healthcare executives are increasing investments in big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), according to the January 4 HealthIT Analytics. Disruptive forces and industry competitors are the major motivators for the increase. Nearly 80% of data analytics leaders say…
Incidence of reoperations after bariatric surgery
Editor's Note Reoperations after bariatric surgery occurred mainly within the first 10 years, and revisional surgeries (ie, conversions, corrections, and reversals) were more common after banding and vertical banded gastroplasty than gastric bypass, this Swedish study finds. In this analysis of 2,010 patients with 26 years of follow-up, first-time revisional…
CMS underpaid hospitals by $76.8 billion in 2017
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) underpaid hospitals by $76.8 billion in 2017, according to data from the American Hospital Associationโs Annual Survey of Hospitals. Medicare underpayments totaled $53.9 billion, and Medicaid underpayments were $22.9 billion. Hospitals also provided $38.4 billion in uncompensated care, the January…
December healthcare employment highest in decades
Editor's Note US healthcare added 50,200 jobs in December to a seasonally adjusted 16,213,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on January 4. That is up 346,000 more employees than a year ago, and the highest since 1990. The overall unemployment rate rose by 0.2% to 3.9%.
Medicareโs bundled payments for joint replacements show moderate savings
Editor's Note In the first 2 years of Medicareโs Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program, there was a modest reduction in spending per procedure without an increase in complication rates, this study finds. Comparing costs associated with 280,161 joint replacement procedures in 803 hospitals required to participate in the…
Joint Commission to begin publicly reporting C-section rates
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on December 19 that, effective July 1, 2020, it will begin publicly reporting hospitals with consistently high C-section rates on"Quality Check," using hospital data reported during CY 2018 and 2019. The Joint Commission began requiring accredited hospitals to collect and submit data on the…
Cross-contamination of pierced earring holes, nursesโ fingers a potential source of HAIs
Editor's Note Pierced earring holes can be a source of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) via cross-transmission of bacteria from the holes to nursesโ fingers, this study finds. For this analysis, earlobes and fingers of 200 nurses (128 with pierced ears and 72 unpierced) working at a university hospital in Japan…
Nurses again most trusted in Gallup poll
Editor's Note An annual poll from Gallup found nurses rated the highest among professions in the US for their honesty and ethical standards for the 17th straight year. A total of 84% of respondents rated the honesty and ethical standards of nurses as โvery highโ or โhigh.โ Physicians came in…