Editor's Note Black patients are less likely to receive multimodal analgesia and more likely to be given additional oral opioids compared to white patients, according to research presented at the Anesthesiology 2024 annual meeting. According to an October 20 report on the retrospective study from the American Society of Anesthesiologists,…

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Editor's Note Cybersecurity threats in healthcare are increasingly driven by third-party vendors, affecting millions of patients and hospital systems globally, experts John Riggi and Richard Staynings emphasized at the HIMSS Healthcare Cybersecurity Forum. Healthcare Finance News reported on the experts’ testimony November 5. According to the article, cyberattacks have surged…

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Editor's Note Republicans secured a 51-seat majority in the US Senate after victories in Ohio and West Virginia, promising a power shift that will see GOP leaders shaping decisions on pressing issues like drug pricing, public health agency reform, and rural healthcare. On November 6, STAT published an overview of…

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Editor's Note Private equity investment in hospital-owned ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) is rising as hospitals seek expansion capital and private equity firms look for profitable partnerships in a growing sector, Modern Healthcare November 4 reports. ASCs have become popular due to their lower costs compared to hospitals, which makes them…

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Editor's Note This session on converting hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) into ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), presented at the recently concluded OR Manager Conference, saw Joan Dentler, MBA, founder of Avanza Healthcare Strategies, share practical insights for healthcare leaders contemplating this transition. Dentler began by highlighting the history of ASCs, which…

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Editor's Note Doctors facing inflationary and operational cost increases are decrying recently finalized 2025 Medicare reimbursement rates, according to a November 4 report in Healthcare Dive. The 2025 rates reduce physician payments by 2.9% while increasing rates for hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) by 2.9%, the outlet…

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Editor's Note When it comes to the 2024 presidential election, “Neither candidate addresses a return to the fundamental tenet of healthcare: the patient-physician relationship,” reads the closing line of an “election guide” from Richard Menger MD MPA. In the preceding paragraph, Menger also argues that both candidates also neglect issues…

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Editor's Note New guidance from The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) addresses regulatory and safety concerns for hospitals using ethylene oxide (EO) for medical device sterilization—a pressing concern due to EO’s effectiveness but associated health risks. ANSI/AAMI ST58:2024, an update on chemical sterilization and high-level disinfection practices…

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Editor's Note Real-world experience in Texas—where more than 650 nurses marched on the capitol in support of workplace violence legislation—informed much of yesterday’s OR Manager Conference presentation on nurse legislative and policy advocacy from Serena Bumpus, DNP, RN, NEA-BC. Although nurses make up the largest healthcare workforce—around 5.2 million across…

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Editor's Note A Senate report reveals that Medicare Advantage insurers are increasingly prioritizing profits over patient care by ramping up the use of prior authorization to deny necessary services, particularly post-acute care, for older adults, Becker’s Hospital Review reported October 17. In May 2023, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations…

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