FDA issues statements on VHP sterilization; hip surgery device safety
Editor's Note Recent announcements from The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) validate vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) as an established device sterilization method and warn against the use of the Synovo Total Hip Replacement system. Issued January 8, the announcement about VHP is part of the agencyโs multi-pronged approach to…
Phone-based follow-up safe, effective for general surgery patients
Editor's Note Postoperative telehealth for general surgery patients is both safe and effective, according to a study published on December 22 in The American Journal of Surgery. The study consisted of a retrospective review of 1,075 veterans undergoing qualifying procedures at a medical center from June 2019 to September 2021.…
Healthcare employment up in December, defying expectations
Editor's Note Healthcare employment in the US rose by 37,700 from December 2023 to January 2024, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on January 5. Overall, employment rose by 2.7 million in 2023 (an average monthly gain of 225,000), which is less than the…
Investigation reveals medical device safety testing concerns
Editor's Note Published December 21, a year-long investigation by KFF Health News into medical device malfunctions found that the FDA allows the sale of most medical devices, including many implants, without requiring tests for safety or effectiveness. Instead, manufacturers need to show only that they have โsubstantial equivalenceโ to an…
More executives considering ASC joint ventures
Editor's Note A survey of health system executives published January 4 by VMG Health finds that an increasing number are planning to expand into joint ventures with ambulatory surgery centers as they look to move more services from inpatient to outpatient facilities. The survey included 141 health system executives, including…
Antibody shot Nirsevimab prevents hospitalizations in infants with RSV
Editor's Note The antibody shot Nirsevimab can protect infants from hospitalization from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The results from the new clinical trial were published December 28 in The New England Journal of Medicine. Affecting two of three children in their first year of life, RSV causes seasonal infection and,…
Mental health peer support more common among health systems
Editor's Note Healthcare systems are increasingly leveraging peer support programs to help reduce staff burnout and combat problems of loneliness and isolation. Examples cited in a January 4 report from Beckerโs Hospital Review include: NYC Health + Hospitals has assigned each unit a โwell-being buddyโโa volunteer who checks in on…
Nursing exam pass rates turn around in 2023
Editor's Note Nursing exam pass rates are on the rise after years of decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a January 1 report from MedPage Today. ย During 2020 and 2021, the share of US candidates who passed the national licensure exam to work as an RN fell from…
Ransomware attacks on healthcare systems rose in 2023
Editor's Note A near doubling of ransomware attacks on healthcare systems from 2022 to 2023 could point to a problematic trend, according to a January 2 report from cybersecurity firm Emsisoft. Specifically, findings show 46 ransomware attacks in 2023 compared to 25 in 2022 and 27 in 2021. The 2023…
Study models how clinicians think about managing drug-drug interactions
Editor's Note A study published in BMJ Open is โthe first to present an illustrative model of cliniciansโ real-world decision making for managing DDIs,โ the outlet reported on December 1. DDIs, or drug-drug interactions, are known to cause significant harm (including death), hundreds of thousands of patients hospitalized each year…