New guideline focuses on high-level disinfection safety
The new year brings a newly updated Guideline for Manual Chemical High-Level Disinfection (formerly the Guideline for High-Level Disinfection). This AORN guideline, which is based on a comprehensive, systematic review of research- and non-research-based evidence, recommends best practices for safe and effective high-level disinfection (HLD) performed manually when automated methods…
Total joint cases on firm footing after OR team huddles
Effective use of a daily huddle and customized software for scheduling have had a dramatic impact on efficiency at NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital in New York City. Cancellations on the day of surgery have dropped from a rate of about 10% prior to implementation of huddles to less than 1%,…
How many different procedures are right for your ASC?
When launching a new ambulatory surgery center (ASC), owners must consider a myriad of issues—financing, design, building construction or purchase, regulatory compliance, certification, staffing, and marketing. Underlying all of these considerations are which procedures the center will provide and whether the ASC will be single specialty, like gastrointestinal (GI) or…
Association between safety culture and surgical outcomes
Editor's Note In this study, implementing a global change in safety culture resulted in a significant change in surgical patient outcomes as measured by the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP). After implementation of initiatives targeting communication and patient safety, surgical outcomes and culture scores…
CMS releases final update to coverage for ICDs
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized an update to its coverage policy for implantable cardiac devices (ICDs), the February 16 Modern Healthcare reports. The update expedites patient access by eliminating the waiting period for patients with an existing ICD to obtain a replacement device…
Prolonged catheter use linked to infections in regional anesthesia
Editor's Note Infection risk with peripheral and epidural catheter use in continuous regional anesthesia increases over time, especially after 4 days, this study finds. Of 44,555 continuous regional anesthesia patients analyzed in this German study, the probability of infection-free catheter use decreased each day of peripheral and epidural catheter use.…
Family care program helps cut readmissions after cardiac surgery
Editor's Note Intermountain Healthcare’s (Salt Lake City, Utah) Partners in Healing program, which involves family members in in-patient care, helped reduce 30-day readmissions after cardiac surgery by 65%, the February 13 Healthcare Finance reports. The program enables family members to help with basic care, which in turn prepares them for…
Association between bariatric surgery and diabetes treatment
Editor's Note In this nationwide French study, bariatric surgery was associated with a significantly higher 6-year postoperative diabetes treatment discontinuation rate, compared with baseline and a control group who did not have bariatric surgery. Of more than 30,000 patients included in the study, the treatment discontinuation rate was 49.9% for…
NPDB launches hospital attestation initiative
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 14 announced that the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) has launched a new initiative for US hospitals to complete their attestation when renewing their NPDB registrations. The NPDB is a repository of reports on medical malpractice payments and adverse actions related to healthcare…
CMS grants exceptions to ASCs in areas affected by natural disasters
Editor's Note Because of the impact of several recent natural disasters, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is granting exceptions for Medicare quality reporting requirements to ASCs in affected areas, the February 12 ASCA News reports. Exceptions include: ASCs in two California counties affected by wildfires ASCs located…