FDA: Class I recall of certain Medtronic ICDs, CRT-Ds
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on February 27 classified the recall by Medtronic of certain Implantable Cardiovert Defibrillators (ICDs) and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Defibrillators (CRT-Ds) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a defect in the manufacturing process. The defect causes an…
Effect of ACOs on surgical care among racial, ethnic minorities
Editor's Note In this study, researchers found persistent differences in the surgical care of racial and ethnic minorities despite the formation of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), which were expected to reduce healthcare disparities and improve access to surgical services. Rates of surgical interventions in the ACO cohort were significantly lower…
Mayo Clinicโs telemedicine hub reducing ICU mortalities
Editor's Note The Mayo Clinic has built a central telemedicine hub to monitor six ICUs at once, raising the level of care to its patients, the February 21 VCDaily reports. The telemedicine hub operates out of a hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, where a series of interactive video conferencing links provide…
FDA: Hospira recalls four lots of Labetalol Hydrochloride
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 23 announced the recall by Hospira Inc (Lake Forest, Illinois) of three lots of Labetalol Hydrochloride Injection, USP, 100 mg/20 mL vial (NDC 0409-2267-25), and one lot of Labetalol Hydrochloride Injection, USP, Novaplus (NDC 0409-2267-25). The recall was initiated because…
Patient frailty linked to increased morbidity after ambulatory surgery procedures
Editor's Note Frailty was independently associated with postoperative morbidity in patients having common ambulatory general surgery procedures (ie, hernia, breast, thyroid, or parathyroid), this study finds. In this analysis of 140,828 patients in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, the relative risk of complications was increased…
Joint Commission improves access to revised EM standards for ambulatory care customers
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 21 announced that it has created specific versions of 19 elements of performance (EPs) for deemed ambulatory surgical centers and specific versions for federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to improve access in the E-dition.ย The EPs were added for the Centers…
Effect of dedicated OR teams on clinical outcomes in a colorectal ERAS program
Editor's Note Dedicated OR teams for a colorectal Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) program at Johns Hopkins Hospital led to anesthesia providers becoming more central to the ERAS network, which increased process measure compliance and improved clinical outcomes in this study. Before the dedicated OR teams were instituted, surgeons were…
Hand Hygiene TST now available as mobile app
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on February 21 that users of the Center for Transforming Healthcareโs Targeted Solutions Tool (TST) for Hand Hygiene can now record their observations on any mobile device or tablet by downloading a mobile app from the Google Play or Apple app store. The mobile…
Residency program expands ranks of experienced PACU nurses
Just as nursing schools donโt include the operating room in their curriculums, they also donโt include any instruction on the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). And like the OR, the PACU is having trouble recruiting new nurses. In September 2015, Houston Methodist Hospital began a PACU residency program to train new…
Bullying: From conflict to confrontation to civility in the OR--Part 3
When Carol Schneider, MSN, RN, CCRN, CPAN, became manager of a postanesthesia care unit (PACU) at Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts, she found a plethora of problems, including poor communication skills, low employee engagement scores, and bullying from surgeons and staff. โIt was a very bad climate that was putting…