CMS releases proposed FY 2018 inpatient payments, policies
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 14 issued a proposed rule that would update FY 2018 Medicare inpatient payments and policies. Among the changes, the rule: would increase payment rates by 1.6%, after accounting for inflation and other adjustments required by law includes an…
Conscious sedation is safe for TAVR
Editor's Note Conscious sedation is a safe and viable option for anesthesia in patients having transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), finds this study. The use of conscious sedation rather than general anesthesia was associated with: similar rates of adverse events (1.5% in both groups) shortened ICU (30 vs 96 hours)…
FDA: Recall of Isomeric sterile compounded products
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 6 announced the recall of all lots of sterile products compounded and packaged by Isomeric Pharmacy Solutions (Salt Lake City, Utah). The recall was issued because of FDA concerns of a lack of sterility assurance, which were brought to Isomeric’s…
‘Training’ patients for surgery reduces LOS, costs
Editor's Note A home-based preoperative training program decreased hospital length of stay (LOS), reduced costs, and was well accepted by patients, this study finds. Elements of the Michigan Surgical Home and Optimization Program include improving the patient’s diet, reducing stress, breathing exercises, smoking cessation, and an emphasis on light physical…
FDA: Recall of Medtronic’s StrataMR adjustable valves and shunts
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 8 announced the recall of all StrataMR adjustable valves and shunts manufactured by Medtronic (Dublin, Ireland). The recall was issued because of a postimplantation problem that can lead to under-drainage of cerebrospinal fluid, which can lead to headaches, nausea, vomiting,…
ACS NSQIP Surgical Risk Calculator accurately estimates complication risks
Editor's Note This study finds that the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Surgical Risk Calculator serves its intended purpose of providing a general purpose risk calculator, which is applicable across many surgical domains, using easily understood and generally available predictive information. The Surgical Risk…
FDA: Class I recall of Merit Medical’s sheath introducer
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 31 labeled Merit Medical Systems' (South Jordan, Utah) recall of the Prelude Short Sheath Introducer as Class I, the most serious. The recall was issued because of a manufacturing defect that may cause the tip to separate from the sheath…
Study: Physicians now spend half their time on computer tasks
Editor's Note Over time, electronic health records (EHRs) show a decline in face-to-face patient assessments by physicians and an increase in computer tasks, this study finds. Physicians now spend 50% of their time with patients and 50% of their time on computers. The analysis included 471 physicians who worked on…
FDA: Field corrective action for Medtronic’s Newport HT70, HT70 Plus ventilators
Editor's Note On April 5, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Medtronic (Minneapolis) has notified its customers of a field corrective action for all Newport HT70 and Newport HT70 Plus ventilators manufactured since 2010. The field corrective action is being conducted after reports that the ventilator may reset…
Music therapy reduces pain after spine surgery
Editor's Note In this study, music therapy was found to decrease pain in patients recovering from spine surgery, compared to a control group who received standard care. Visual analog scale (VAS) pain levels before and after music therapy decreased by more than one point, from 6.20 to 5.09, while VAS…