Reminder
OR Manager Conference Attendees: Join us for a breakfast presentation by Ecolab in Osceola C-D at 6:30 am ET tomorrow (Tuesday) for additional CE credit.
The financial cost of physician burnout
Editor's Note A lack of awareness of the financial burden of physician burnout and uncertainty about what can be done to reduce or prevent it have been barriers to organizations taking action to address the problem, finds this study. Reviewing available evidence and analyzing the financial costs of physician burnout…
Joint Commission updates business rules for calculating Life Safety Code surveyor days
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 27 announced an update to its business rules that determine the number of days the Life Safety Code surveyor will be part of a hospital’s survey. The changes, which will take effect January 1, 2018, include: Only square footage will be used to…
FDA alerts healthcare providers about EVAR graft endoleaks
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on September 28 sent letters to vascular and cardiothoracic surgeons, radiologists, and cardiologists, alerting them to an increase in Type III endoleaks associated with endovascular graft systems used in endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for abdominal aortic and aorto-iliac aneurysms. The FDA’s letter…
Preop conditions that predict postop outcomes, mortality in elderly
Editor's Note In patients 85 years of age and older, surgical complexity and certain geriatric variables (malnutrition, frailty), which are overlooked in American Society of Anesthesiologists and most other scores, were relevant in predicting postoperative outcomes and mortality, finds this study. Of 127 patients who completed follow-up, 30-day mortality was…
California department of Public Health issues penalties to 10 hospitals
Editor's Note The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on August 31 issued 10 penalties to 10 California hospitals along with fines totaling $618,002. Of these, three applied to the OR: Loma Linda University Medical Center, Murrieta−a patient sustained a full thickness thermal burn injury to the left calf from…
Joint Commission posts sentinel event stats for first half of 2017
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 20 posted sentinel event statistics from its database through June 30, 2017. Of the top 10 most frequently reported sentinel events during this time period: Falls topped the list with 49 events. Unintended retention of a foreign object was 3rd with 41 events.…
Study: Bariatric surgery lowers cancer risk
Editor's Note In this large multi-site study, bariatric surgery was associated with a lower risk of cancer, particularly obesity-associated cancers, such as postmenopausal breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and colon cancer. The study included five study sites with 22,198 patients who had bariatric surgery and 66,427 nonsurgical matched subjects. At a…
More hospitals allow nurses, physicians to use own electronic devices
Editor's Note Research from Spok Inc found 71% of hospitals allow physicians and nurses to use their own electronic devices at work, compared with 58% last year, the September 21 Healthcare Informatics reports. The researchers also found that: 38% of physicians favored having a hospital-issued device, and they use an…
FDA: Class I recall of Spectranetics’ Bridge Occlusion Balloon Catheter
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 25 categorized the recall by Spectranetics (Colorado Springs, Colorado) of its Bridge Occlusion Balloon Catheter (model 590-001) as Class I, the most serious. The Bridge Occlusion Balloon Catheter is used to temporarily block the superior vena cava when emergency control…