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 Becker’s Hospital Review include: NYC Health + Hospitals has assigned each unit a “well-being buddy”–a 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. 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 “the first to present an illustrative model of clinicians’ real-world decision making for managing DDIs,” 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…
How the “tripledemic” impacts pediatric ED care
Editor's Note According to a new study from the University of Michigan, a surge in multiple respiratory viruses was associated with different pediatric acute care across emergency departments (EDs) across the state. The findings appeared in JAMA Network Open on December 7. The study used data from more than 2.7…
How time perception impacts healing
Editor's Note When it comes to healing, perception matters. A recent study by Harvard researchers found that participants wounds healed more quickly when they believed that time had passed more quickly, regardless of how much time had actually elapsed. Results were published in nature Scientific Reports on December 17. Researchers…
Pilot OR achieves faster, safer hip replacements
Editor's Note A hospital system in Canada is pioneering a safer, more efficient approach to anterior hip replacements that could become a model for improving flow and addressing surgical backlogs, Hospital News reported on December 28. Developed by Humber River Health in Toronto, the Hyper-Throughput Operating Room leverages lean processing…
Brain stimulation improves surgeon dexterity with robotic tools
Editor's Note Mild electric stimulation to the back of surgeons’ heads could enhance robotic surgery accuracy and precision, according to findings published in the journal Scientific Reports on December 20. The study tasked 36 participants – approximately half male, half female, none of whom had experience with robotic surgery –…