Safety/Quality
Study: Bariatric surgery beats lifestyle changes for patients with cirrhosis, obesity
Editor's Note New research shows bariatric surgery may offer better outcomes and lower overall spending than lifestyle changes for patients with cirrhosis, especially mild cases, Medscape reported April 9. The article focuses on a study published in Jama Surgery detailing both the survival benefits and long-term cost-effectiveness for patients with…
CMS vision shifts as agency halts funding for state programs
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will no longer approve federal matching funds for designated state health programs (DSHPs) and designated state investment programs (DSIPs) that are not directly related to Medicaid services. According to the April 10 announcement, the decision aims to preserve the core…
Low-cost blood test predicts cardiovascular event risk
Editor's Note A low-cost blood test for troponin, a protein released during heart muscle damage, significantly improves long-term risk prediction for heart attacks and strokes—especially in patients with intermediate cardiovascular risk, according to an April 7 report from News-Medical.Net. The findings, based on a large-scale international study led by the…
GAO urges HHS to improve drug shortage response coordination
Editor's Note The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement a formal mechanism for coordinating efforts to address ongoing drug shortages, which continue to jeopardize patient care nationwide. In a report released April 9, 2025, the GAO highlighted the critical…
Hospital M&A activity drops to historic low amid economic and policy uncertainty
Editor's Note A sharp drop in 2025 brings hospital and health system mergers and acquisitions to their lowest point in years, according to Kaufman Hall’s most recent Mergers and Acquisitions Quarterly Activity Report. Just five transactions were announced in Q1, a steep decline attributed to widespread economic volatility, concerns over…
Study: US maternal mortality rises 28% in 5 years, inequities persist
Editor's Note Pregnancy-related deaths in the US rose sharply from 2018 to 2022, with rates 3.8 times higher among American Indian and Alaska Native women and 2.8 times higher among non-Hispanic Black women than among White women, according to a new study published April 9 in JAMA Network Open. Researchers…
Routine preop tests catch hidden risks in outpatient cosmetic surgery, Canadian study finds
Editor's Note As aesthetic procedures continue to migrate into freestanding ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), a new Canadian study argues that routine laboratory tests and electrocardiograms—often labeled “low‑value” in hospitals—remain a critical safety net when emergency back‑up is miles away. The manuscript was published by the Aesthetic Surgery Journal on April…
Study: Hospital same‑day knee replacements match ASC outcomes, even in higher‑risk patients
Editor's Note A recent Duke University analysis challenges the long‑held assumption that ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) inherently deliver superior results for outpatient joint replacement, Orthopedics This Week March 18 reports. In the February 2025 Journal of Arthroplasty, researchers report that same‑day discharge total knee arthroplasty (TKA) performed in a tertiary‑care hospital…
FDA clears AI platform for real-time surgical measurements
Editor's Note What is reportedly the first technology to allow dynamic, 3D, segmental visualization of anatomy during surgery earned a second 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration, according to an April 8 press release from developer Proprio. Designed to let surgeons measure progress during surgery without scrubbing…
Study: MRI contrast agent causes harmful metal buildup in some patients
Editor's Note New research offers a potential explanation for why some patients retain toxic metals long after undergoing an MRI. Published in the journal Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the findings show that gadolinium contrast agents used in MRI scans may react with common dietary compounds to form harmful metal nanoparticles in…
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- Study: Bariatric surgery beats lifestyle changes for patients with cirrhosis, obesity
- CMS vision shifts as agency halts funding for state programs
- Low-cost blood test predicts cardiovascular event risk
- Hospital M&A activity drops to historic low amid economic and policy uncertainty
- GAO urges HHS to improve drug shortage response coordination
- Study: US maternal mortality rises 28% in 5 years, inequities persist
- Routine preop tests catch hidden risks in outpatient cosmetic surgery, Canadian study finds
- Study: Hospital same‑day knee replacements match ASC outcomes, even in higher‑risk patients
- FDA clears AI platform for real-time surgical measurements
- Study: MRI contrast agent causes harmful metal buildup in some patients