Pig liver test shows promise for future human transplants
Editor's Note: A successful test of a genetically modified pig liver attached to a brain-dead human body could have significant implications for liver failure patients, the Associated Press reported January 18. Conducted at the University of Pennsylvania, the tested method is similar to kidney dialysis in that the genetically modified…
Study: Perioperative nurses experience high rates of “disruptive” behavior
Editor's Note: Healthcare institutions urgently need intervention strategies to reduce disruptive behavior toward perioperative nurses, according to a report published in the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing on January 9. The recommendation follows a cross-sectional survey designed to “investigate the prevalence, characteristics, causes, consequences, and predictors of and responses to disruptive…
Scrub color affects how patients perceive clinicians
Editor's Note: A recent study shows the color of a clinicians’ scrubs is a factor in how patients view clinicians and, by extension, the clinician-patient relationship as well as clinical outcomes. The findings were published January 11 in Jama Surgery. Although previous research has established connections between physician’s attire and…
Hackers use stolen identities, IT help desk to redirect hospital funds
Editor's Note: In a sophisticated new scheme, hackers are stealing the identity of hospital employees in financial roles—such as revenue cycle employees—and then reaching out to the hospitals’ IT help desk in order to reset passwords, receive access codes, and redirect funds. The American Hospital Association (AHA) sent out an…
Lessons of Pennsylvania’s $8.1 billion COVID loss apply nationwide
Editor's Note: Pennsylvania hospitals and health systems lost a total of $8.1 billion to COVID-19 between January 2020 and December 2022, HealthLeaders reported on January 18. In addition to illuminating the new data from The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council and The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, the…
AI screening identifies patients’ risky preoperative alcohol use
Editor's Note: A recent study suggests artificial intelligence (AI) can be valuable for identifying patients who consumed risky amounts of of alcohol prior to surgery. Findings appeared in the journal Alcohol, Clinical and Experimental Research on January 8. For the study, researchers extracted 3 years of text-based clinical records from…
Nurses named most trusted profession for 22nd year in a row
Editor's Note: An annual Gallup poll continues to rank nursing as the most trusted profession in the United States. However, the number of US adults who believe nurses are honest and highly ethical has declined more than 10 percent from its 2020 peak. Released January 22, Gallup’s 2023 Honesty and…
LiveData to showcase surgical capacity optimization at OR Business Management Conference
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts— January 24, 2024—LiveData, a surgical capacity optimization solution company, today announced that it will demonstrate LiveData PeriOp PlannerTM, its innovative approach to optimizing OR utilization, at the annual OR Business Management Conference, being held February 6-8, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona. LiveData will show how its technology helps hospitals grow…
CMS announces new actions to support hospitals under EMTALA
Editor's Note The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced a new initiative to ensure public access to emergency healthcare and assist hospitals in fulfilling obligations under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a CMS January…
Surgeons design implant coating to combat infections
Editor's Note: A point-of-care, antimicrobial coating for orthopedic implants could soon make implant-associated infections a problem of the past, UCLA Health reported on January 3. Developed by two UCLA surgeons, the coating is designed to kill or slow the spread of micro-organisms in order to prevent post-surgical infections. According to…