ASA: Anesthesia drug shortages affecting patient care
Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) on April 25 reported that a national drug shortage of injectable opioids and local anesthetics is negatively affecting care received by patients under anesthesia. An informal survey of 2,500 ASA members, found that 98% are now experiencing drug shortages at their institutions,…
Study: Procedures performed by older surgeons have lower mortality rates
Editor's Note In this study, non-elective surgical procedures performed by older surgeons (aged 50 and up) had lower mortality rates than those performed by younger surgeons, and mortality rates did not differ significantly by surgeon gender. A total of 892,187 Medicare patients who had one of 20 common types of…
NewYork-Presbyterian opens world-class center for ambulatory care
Editor's Note NewYork-Presbyterian on April 24 announced the opening of the David H. Koch Center, a world-class ambulatory care center that provides a seamless patient experience from diagnosis to treatment. The approximately 749,000 square foot facility includes services such as outpatient surgery, interventional radiology, diagnostic imaging, and infusion services as…
CMS issues FY 2019 hospital IPPS proposed rule
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 24 issued its hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) proposed rule for FY 2019. The proposed rule increases rates by 1.75%, which reflects the projected market-basket update of 2.8% for hospitals that were meaningful users of electronic health…
EHR capabilities influence patient satisfaction
Editor's Note A Black Book market survey found that 92% of patients younger than 40 expressed dissatisfaction if their providers did not offer them complete medical records, and 85% wanted more telehealth options, the April 23 Healthcare Informatics reports. A total of 88% of respondents blamed the hospital systems directly…
FDA issues Safety Alert for magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy devices
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 25 issued a Safety Alert that provides preliminary information concerning magnetic resonance (MR) thermometry reliability with MR-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) devices. The FDA is evaluating data that suggests potentially inaccurate MR thermometry information can be displayed during treatment,…
Effect of stringent OR attire policies on SSIs
Editor's Note Implementation of stringent OR attire policies that included full coverage of ears and facial hair did not reduce surgical site infection (SSI) risks in this study. Researchers compared American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data of all patients undergoing surgical procedures 9 months before implementation…
CMS accepting meaningful use hardship applications
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that eligible hospitals may submit hardship exception applications until July 1 to avoid 2019 meaningful use payment adjustments under the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, and critical access hospitals may submit applications until November 30 to avoid…
Deadline for ASCQR program web-based measures fast approaching
Editor's Note The submission deadline for all Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR) program web-based measures is May 15, 2018, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association reported on April 24. ASC-8: Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Healthcare Personnel is reported through the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionโs National Healthcare Safety Network.…
Association of postop readmission with quality
Editor's Note One-third of postoperative readmissions are unlikely to reflect problems with surgical quality, this study finds. Readmissions with diagnoses that were considered associated with surgical quality accounted for 25,521 of 39,664 readmissions (64%) at a VA medical center between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2014. The proportion of…