Even before Trump took office, Congress was planning to prepare ACA repeal legislation by January 27. It looked as though action could be swift once key members of the new administration took office. However, The Washington Post’s report of a January 26 meeting of Republican lawmakers indicated they were far…

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Editor's Note The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has developed two e-learning modules on informed consent that will be available through the Joint Commission’s learning management system for continuing education credit. The modules, which are available for free: help hospital leaders provide guidance on developing policies and ensuring…

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Editor's Note Nursing remains the most-trusted profession in Gallup’s annual honesty and ethical standards survey for the 15th year in a row. A total of 84% of respondents rated nurses’ honesty and ethical standards as high or very high. Pharmacists and physicians were second and third in the ratings at…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) has developed a pediatric surgical risk calculator based on 181,353 cases covering 382 CPT codes across all specialties. It was found to have excellent discrimination for mortality, morbidity, and seven additional complications. The calculator can be…

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Editor's Note Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) must comply with nondiscrimination requirements in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act by October 19, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association announced on September 28. The Act prohibits sex discrimination and requires language assistance for those with limited English proficiency and effective communication for…

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Editor's Note Physicians are trying to adapt privacy concerns and requirements to meet patient requests that electronic health record (EHR) data be sent to their mobile apps, including fitness trackers, according to a report in the July 7 Healthcare IT News. Meaningful use and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers developed a question prompt list for older adults considering high-risk surgery. Three decision-making needs were addressed, including clarification of treatment options, setting postoperative expectations, and advance care planning. The list included 11 questions within 3 domains: Should I have surgery? What should I expect…

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Editor's Note The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on May 23 released a new online toolkit to help healthcare organizations and providers respond when a patient is harmed. The toolkit is based on the Communication and Optimal Resolution (CANDOR) process, which is a patient-centered approach that emphasizes early…

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Editor's Note In this study, patient factors, hospital case volume, and practice patterns were found to be associated with in-hospital mortality after elective abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. Of 166, 443 AAA repairs performed at 1,207 hospitals, in-hospital mortality was 0.7% for endovascular AAA repair and 3.8% for open AAA…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) Surgical Risk Calculator accurately estimates the risk of postoperative complications, and the calculator’s performance would improve with recalibration, this study finds. The statistical analysis for this study was based on 2.7 million surgical records collected between…

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