CMS announces new voluntary bundled payment model
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on January 9 announced a new voluntary bundled payment model called, โBundled Payments for Care Improvement Advancedโ (BPCI Advanced). Participants in BPCI Advanced will receive payments for performance on 32 (29 inpatient, 3 outpatient) different clinical episodes. The first cohort…
AHRQ: New toolkit for ambulatory care transitions
Editor's Note The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on January 9 announced a new โSafe Transitions Toolkitโ for clinical staff working in ambulatory care settings. The toolkit is designed to help staff actively engage patients and their care partners to prevent errors during care transitions. The toolkit includes…
Intraop handover of anesthesia care linked to adverse outcomes
Editor's Note Complete handover of intraoperative anesthesia care was significantly linked to adverse postoperative outcomes in this Canadian study. In this analysis of 313,066 adult patients having major surgery, complete intraoperative handover of anesthesia care, compared with no handover, was significantly associated with a higher risk of a composite of…
Joint Commission: New requirement for maternal status assessment and documentation
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on January 10 announced that three new requirements for maternal status assessment and documentation will become effective July 1, 2018, for accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals that offer obstetric services, specifically labor and delivery. The new requirements were designed to: Document or assess the…
Night shift work increases risk of cancers in women
Editor's Note This meta-analysis of 61 articles (involving 3,909,152 patients) finds a positive relationship between long-term night shift work and several common cancers in women, including breast, digestive system, and skin cancers. A subgroup analysis found that for every 5 years of night shift work, the risk of breast cancer…
Joint Commission, CDC announce new infection prevention guides for outpatient settings
Editor's Note The Joint Commission and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) have been collaborating since late 2015 on a 3-year project titled, โAdaptation & Dissemination of Outpatient Infection Prevention (ADOPT).โ The goal of the project is to adapt, enhance, and disseminated current CDC guidance on infection prevention and…
FDA Commissioner updates drug shortage efforts in Puerto Rico
Editor's Note Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, on January 4 issued a statement, updating the continued efforts to mitigate the IV saline and amino acids for injection shortages caused by Hurricane Maria. The FDA expects the IV saline shortage to improve in early 2018. Just before…
Effect of standardized handoff on improved clinician preparedness in the ICU
Editor's Note The UW [University of Washington]-IPASS standardized handoff curriculum improves provider preparedness and workflow in the ICU, this study finds. The intent of UW-IPASS is to standardized and improve clinician handoffs through the use of a mnemonic and electronic medical record tool that ensures communication of essential information. UW-IPASS…
Joint Commission Resources releases two new publications
Editor's Note Joint Commission Resources announced on January 3 the release of two new publications to help organizations comply with requirements for accreditation. โMedical Staff Essentialsโ breaks down difficult concepts in the Medical Staff (MS) standards. โRoot Cause Analysis in Health Care: Tools and Techniquesโ provides a systematic approach to…
Growth predicted for minimally invasive spine surgery market
Editor's Note A Healthcare Market Reports analysis predicts the minimally invasive spine surgery market will see a compound annual growth rate of 7.57% through 2020, the January 4 Beckerโs Spine Review reports. The increasing incidence of spinal disorders is boosting the market, and a key market trend is the minimally…