CMS: Final rule establishes emergency preparedness requirements
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on September 16 released its final rule on โEmergency preparedness requirements for Medicare and Medicaid participating providers and suppliers.โ The rule establishes requirements to plan for natural and man-made disasters and coordinate with federal, state, tribal, regional, and local emergency…
10-year outcomes after different treatments for prostate cancer
Editor's Note At 10 years, prostate cancer mortality was low irrespective of the treatment, and with no significant difference among monitoring (1.5 deaths/1,000 person years), surgery (0.9/1,000), or radiotherapy (0.7/1,000), finds this study. Radical prostatectomy and external beam radiotherapy were associated with lower incidences of disease progression and metastases than…
Burnout increases after patient safety incident
Editor's Note Physicians and nurses involved in a patient safety incident experience significant negative outcomes, this study finds. Of 5,788 nurses and physicians analyzed, 9% had been involved in an incident during the prior 6 months. Involvement in a patient safety incident was linked to: a greater risk of burnout…
CMS: Readmissions fall by more than 500,000
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on September 13 announced that 30-day patient readmissions fell by an estimated 565,000 over 5 years, from 2010 to 2015. Rates declined by more than 5% in 43 states and by more than 10% in 11 states. The only state…
Association between TAVR and endocarditis, mortality
Editor's Note In this study of patients having transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), younger age, male gender, history of diabetes, and moderate to severe residual aortic regurgitation were significantly associated with an increased risk of infective endocarditis. Patients who developed endocarditis had high rates of in-hospital and 2-year mortality. Of…
Computer algorithm shows need for high-volume care for heart, lung transplant patients
Editor's Note Using a computerized mathematical model, Johns Hopkins researches investigated whether they could improve heart and lung transplants by transferring patients from low- to high-volume transplant centers. Among the findings: For heart transplants, 10 lives were saved after one center closure, and 240 lives were saved after up to…
Public wants 16-hour shifts for residents
Editor's Note A total of 86% of general public respondents to a national survey want 16-hour shifts for first-year residents to remain, and 80% support dropping the maximum shift limit for second-year residents and above from 28 hours to 16 hours. The survey was conducted by Public Citizen, an independent…
Survey: Cardiothoracic surgeons love their jobs
Editor's Note Despite significant challenges in their careers, cardiothoracic surgeons report a very high level of job satisfaction in a survey published online September 13 in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons reports. The 63-question survey was administered to more than 4,300 members of the Society…
First clinical trial of HCV-infected kidney transplants
Editor's Note Researchers at Penn Medicine, Philadelphia, are conducting a clinical trial to test the effect of administering antiviral therapy to organ recipients after being transplanted with kidneys infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The first participant received a kidney transplant in July, and after being treated with Zepatier…
Study: Most nurses dissatisfied with EHRs
Editor's Note A study by Adventist University of Health Sciences (Orlando, Florida) found that 92% of nurses were dissatisfied with their electronic health record (EHR) technology. In addition, 85% said the EHRs had flaws, and 84% said EHRs disrupted their productivity and clinical workflow. The researchers also found an increase…