Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 20 announced an update to the book, “Planning, Design, and Construction of Health Care Facilities,” which was developed in partnership with the American Institute of Architects Academy of Architecture for Health (AIA/AAH). This 4th edition includes: Eight new case studies that highlight design challenges,…

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In the never-ending quest to improve patient care, we are always seeking better ways to process medical devices. Many leading experts now recommend transitioning from high-level disinfection (HLD) to sterilization for semicritical items. Semicritical items are instruments or objects that contact mucous membranes or nonintact skin of a patient, but…

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Editor's Note In this study, a new machine learning Complexity Score algorithm outperformed three commonly used risk scores in predicting postoperative morbidity, 30-day readmission, 90-day readmission, and postoperative surper-use. Study patients underwent colectomy, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, coronary artery bypass grafting, total hip or knee replacement, or lung resection. The…

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Editor's Note The use of long-sleeved disposable OR jackets as recommended by AORN is not associated with reductions in surgical site infections (SSIs) and presents a fiscal burden, this study finds. In this analysis of 60,009 patients in 12 hospitals in a large multicenter health organization during a 55 month…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 25 announced publication of the 2020 manual for Disease-Specific Care Certification and four fall updates to the current accreditation manuals. Coming in November are the 2020 accreditation manuals for all programs.

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 23 announced that a new Dashboard Report is now available for accredited ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). The report provides performance measurement data on select measures and is intended to facilitate conversations on data, performance measures, and quality improvement during the survey process. Using…

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Editor's Note New research from the ECRI Institute finds that diagnostic tests and medication events are the most frequent safety risks patients face in ambulatory care. ECRI Institute’s “Deep Dive: Safe Ambulatory Care, Strategies for Patient Safety & Risk Reduction” identifies solutions for five types of safety challenges in ambulatory…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 16 announced that it was seeking comments on proposed standards for the Advanced Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement Certification program for hospitals, critical access hospitals, and ambulatory surgery centers. The new standards were developed to further promote patient safety and quality of…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced October 16 that several elements of performance for the Office-Based Surgery Accreditation program have been revised, effective January 1, 2020. The revisions, which are in the Environment of Care chapter, were made to align with 2012 Life Safety Code requirements and updated National Fire…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on Octobere 9 that the 2020 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) are now available on its website. Included are the revised elements of performance “NPSG.15.01.01: Reduce the risk for suicide” that went into effect earlier this year. The new requirements are designed to improve…

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