Editor's Note Health systems are increasingly focusing on construction projects aimed at long-term growth and outpatient care, often renovating existing facilities, Modern Healthcare June 10 reports. According to Modern Healthcare's 2024 Construction and Design Survey, 60% of respondents see growth in the healthcare construction industry despite inflation, high material costs,…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published 2023 survey data for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), highlighting top citations, ASC Focus June 7 reports. Due to system migrations, public data updates halted since May 2022, but CMS staff provided data to ASCA on May 30, 2024. The…

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Editor's Note The US Food & Drug Administration has designated Medline Industries’ recall of the Sub-G Endotracheal Tube with Subglottic Suction, which is used to keep a patients’ airway open, as a class 1, the most severe category indicating risk of serious injury or death. According to the agency’s June…

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Editor's Note The state agency overseeing Oregon’s hospitals has received a “flood of complaints” due to a “first-of-its-kind” law mandating progressively stricter nurse and certified nursing assistant (CNA) staffing ratios, according to a June 7 report in KMTR.   Passed after extensive negotiations among hospital executives, staff, and nurse unions…

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Editor's Note Microsoft and Google announced they will offer free or discounted cybersecurity services to rural hospitals in the U.S. to help protect against cyberattacks, CNN reported on June 10. According to the article, Microsoft will provide free security updates, assessments, and staff training, while Google will offer free cybersecurity…

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Editor's Note Healthcare employment in the US rose by 68,000 from May to June, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released on June 7. That is compared to an overall monthly gain of 272,000 in May. In May, healthcare employment also trended up in: ambulatory…

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Editor's Note Ascension, a 140-hospital, St. Louis-based health system disrupted by a May 8 cyberattack, has announced that its electronic medical record (EHR) will be restored by June 14. Becker’s Health IT reported the news June 5. According to that article, the restoration of systems comes after medical records have…

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Editor's Note Doctors are urging the American Medical Association (AMA) to take legal action or otherwise help recoup their losses from the February 21 Cyberattack on Change Healthcare, a division of United HealthGroup. Forbes reported the news June 3. The article cites a a resolution before the AMA’s reference committee on amendments…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission is set to revise the Infection Prevention and Control (IC) chapter requirements for both office-based surgery (OBS) practices and ambulatory healthcare (AHC) organizations, effective July 1, 2025. These revisions aim to streamline the IC chapter, focusing on essential structures and processes that support quality and…

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Editor's Note Pending legislation in Louisiana could enable judges to order surgical castration for sex offenses involving young children, the Associated Press reported June 3. If Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signs the bill, Louisiana would become the first state to do so, although it and other states allow chemical castration.…

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