Joint Commission issues new, revised NPSGs on CAUTIs
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 9 issued new and revised National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) on catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) that will be effective January 1, 2017. The new NPSG will apply to accredited nursing care centers, and the revised NPSGs will apply to accredited hospitals and…
FDA: Class I recall of Centurion Convenience Kits with Multi-Med Single Lumen Catheters
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 9 categorized the recall by Centurion Medical Products (Williamston, Michigan) of its Centurion Convenience Kits containing Multi-Med Single Lumen Catheters as Class I, the most serious. There may be excess material at the tip of the catheters from the manufacturing…
Effect of Medicareโs nonpayment program on HACs
Editor's Note Medicareโs Nonpayment Program of 2008, which withholds hospital reimbursement for costs related to hospital-acquired conditions (HACs), was associated with a decline in the incidence of selected HACs in this study. The decline was greater in hospitals with higher Medicare utilization ratios (MURs). In this analysis of nearly 868,000…
ASCA lauds passage of 21st Century Cures Act
Editor's Note The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) on December 7 applauded Congress for passing the 21st Century Cures Act, which includes two provisions that benefit Medicare patients and physicians in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). The first provision, Section 4012, directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to…
New Joint Commission cardiac center certification
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 7 announced that it is offering a new Comprehensive Cardiac Center Certification, starting January 1. The voluntary program has been developed to recognize accredited hospitals that demonstrate excellence in delivering cardiac care through a combination of standards compliance, performance on targeted metrics, and…
Growth of anesthesia outside the OR
Editor's Note Nonoperating room anesthesia (NORA) is a growing component of anesthesiology practice, this study finds. The proportion of NORA cases overall increased from 28.3% in 2010 to 35.9% in 2014, and the mean age of NORA patients increased significantly faster than OR patients. Compared with OR cases, more NORA…
Prehabilitation program improves preop fitness in colon cancer patients
Editor's Note Engaging colon cancer patients in a prehabilitation program 4 weeks before surgery modified exercise behaviors and improved physical function, which improved postoperative outcomes, finds this study. Researchers randomized 116 patients to either a prehabilitation program (57 patients) or a control group (59 patients). After 4 weeks, compared with…
Interplay between surgeon, anesthesiologist affects productivity
Editor's Note Assigning certain anesthesiologists to specific surgeons affected team performance and turnaround time in this study. Researchers assessed the relationship between turnaround times and assignment of anesthesiologists to surgeons using a Monte Carlo simulation. They constructed managerial decision tables for the assignments, and defined a decision algorithm based on…
Mount Sinai announces 3D printing services
Editor's Note Mount Sinai Health System (New York City) on December 6 announced its Medical Modeling Core, a collaboration led by the neurosurgery department, where clinicians can order 3D models for their cases. Virtual reality, simulation, and 3D printing services will be provided with quick turnaround times and at significant…
Early discharge after total joints doesnโt increase readmissions
Editor's Note Early discharge of patients after total joint replacement did not increase readmission rates in this study. Of 174 patients discharged after 1 day and 285 discharged after 2 days, the readmission rates for both groups were similarโ2.3% vs 2.5% at 30 days and 1.1% for both groups at…