Editor's Note Phoenix-based Banner Health paid a $1.25 million settlement after potential HIPAA security violations left 2.81 million consumer’s health data exposed in a 2016 data breach, Becker’s Hospital Review reports on February 3.   The potential violations include lack of analysis to determine risks of electronic health records (EHRs),…

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Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in January to a seasonally adjusted 16,654,400 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on February 3. That’s up 58,200 since December. Hospital employment also was up by 10,900 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for January was 3.4%, for a…

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Editor’s Note Amanda Brown, MS, RN, PCNS-BC, CNS-CP, CNOR, Nurse Professional Development Specialist, Lutheran Medical Center, Intermountain Health and recently retired Deborah Hedrick, MA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, Director, Perioperative Services, Lutheran Medical Center, shared the creative staffing program they implemented at their institution in a Tuesday session at OR Business…

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Editor's Note “Patients, physicians, and others basically label hospitals as the place you go when you’re sick,” Joan Dentler, MBA, Founder and President of Avanza Healthcare Strategies, said when opening the session, “ASC Joint Ventures—Risk or Reward?” On the flip side, she continued, “outpatient services is where you go when…

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Editor’s Note Michelle Larson, DNP, RN, NE-BC, Nurse Administrator at Mayo Clinic, posed this quote from Dr Charles Mayo, founder of the Mayo Clinic, when opening the session, “Designing a Sustainable Model for your Future OR Today”: “If we excel in anything, it is in our capacity for translating idealism…

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To be a leader today you must be competent to understand the drive of financials, says Brandon Bennett, DNP, APRN, CNOR, CNS-CP, CSSM, CNAMB, NE-BC, adding that “optimization is critical.” Bennett discussed the significance of understanding financial management in the OR in the pre-conference workshop on Sunday at the OR…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 1 announced a new search site that is available for finding Joint Commission-accredited organizations that provide substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and the levels of care they provide. Individuals seeking care, providers, state authorities, and payers can search by organization name or location…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on February 1, announced that new resources are now available in its Health Care Equity Accreditation Standards & Resource Center, chronicling efforts by Boston Medical Center in its healthcare equity journey. The new resources include: Six “Snapshots” (brief synopses) focusing on challenges, successes, and lessons…

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Editor's Note The New York Times on January 27 reported that 37% of aspiring nurses who allegedly purchased fraudulent degrees to bypass coursework and training required to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) passed the test. Many of the 7,600 individuals who paid between $10,000 and $15,000 for…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 30 identified the recall by Medtronic of its Mahurkar Acute Dual Lumen High Flow (13.5 French) Hemodialysis Catheters (Mahurkar QPlus) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a potential catheter hub defect that may cause…

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