Information sought on CMS oversight of hospital accrediting organizations
Editor's Note Energy and Commerce Committee leaders on March 9 sent letters to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and four hospital accrediting organizations to provide information about the hospital survey process and CMS oversight of the organizations by March 23. The letters were sent after questions were…
Dramatic increase in burn survival over past 30 years
Editor's Note Great strides in burn care over the past 30 years have dramatically increased burn patients’ chances of survival by 2% per year, this study finds. Between 1989 and 2017, there were 10,384 burn admissions with 355 mortalities. Researchers looked at the main factors that influenced risk of death…
Joint Commission seeks comments on proposed requirements for fluoroscopy
Editor's Note The Joint Commission is revising its standards to better address risks related to fluoroscopy in the Ambulatory Care, Critical Access Hospital, Hospital, and Office-Based Surgery accreditation programs. The changes are being made to further promote patient safety and quality of care in addition to aligning the accreditation requirements…
FDA: Potential for increased image artifact when using MRA for follow-up of embolization coil procedures
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on March 12 issued a Safety Alert on the potential for increased artifact associated with magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) imaging for follow-up of certain post neurovascular embolization coil procedures. When MRA is performed on patients implanted with neurovascular embolization coils containing 304V…
TAVR dramatically improves patients’ quality of life
Editor's Note Patients who have a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) experience a significant increase in quality of life, finds this study presented March 11 at the 2018 American College of Cardiology Scientific Session in Orlando. Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute (Salt Lake City) researchers found that TAVR patients ranked…
ECRI Institute releases top 10 patient safety concerns for 2018
Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on March 12 released its 2018 Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for Healthcare Organizations. Topping the list is diagnostic errors, followed by opioid safety across the continuum of care. Eighth on the list is device cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization. The list is not representative of…
Inpatient surgery readmission trends during HRRP
Editor's Note Surgical readmission rates have declined in the past decade, and rates of decline increased during the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) period, this study finds. Between 2005 and 2014, rates of readmission across 8 targeted procedures declined from 12.2% to 8.6%. Before the Affordable Care Act, rates of readmission…
FDA warns duodenoscope manufacturers on postmarket study noncompliance
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on March 9 issued warning letters to all three duodenoscope manufacturers for failing to comply with federal requirements to conduct postmarket surveillance studies to assess the effectiveness of reprocessing their devices. Olympus failed to start data collection, and Pentax and Fujifilm failed…
Joint Commission updates outpatient THKR implementation guide
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 7 announced that an updated THKR Outpatient Performance Measurement Implementation Guide is now available for its Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement (THKR) Certification program. The update includes the 2018 CPT codes. Joint Commission Online Weekly Newsletter Read More >>
Prevalence of neurocognitive dysfunction and effects on total joint outcomes
Editor's Note Neurocognitive dysfunction is highly prevalent in total joint candidates and predisposes patients to suboptimal postoperative outcomes including increased ICU admissions and prolonged rehabilitation, this study finds. The researchers found that nearly 54% of 99 patients analyzed had neurocognitive dysfunction, which correlated with age more than 60 years, body…