Editor's Note This study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, finds no difference in quality of shared decision making in surgical patients having preoperative in-person vs telemedicine visits. Of 387 patients who were scheduled for surgery between May 2021 and June 2022, 301 had in-person visits and 86 had…

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Editor's Note Five more organizations are launching or expanding nursing programs, the January 20 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. Marian University School of Nursing, Indianapolis, and Ascension St. Vincent are partnering to address nursing shortages in Indiana. University of Phoenix College of Nursing is offering a Master of Science in Nursing…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission and National Quality Forum (NQF) on January 23 announced the recipients of the 2022 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards. The Awards recognize major achievements by individuals and organizations to improve patient safety and healthcare quality. This year’s recipients; Made advancements related to…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, finds a large degree of variation in fit testing results for N95 masks in healthcare workers (HCWs). The researchers retrospectively analyzed 12,582 qualitative fit testing results for several models of N95 masks in 8,809 HCWs. Among the…

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Editor's Note Medscape’s 2023 Physician Lifestyle and Happiness Report finds that physician happiness fell during the COVID-19 pandemic and is not rebounding easily, the January 20 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The survey findings include: 59% of physicians say they are “somewhat” or “very happy,” down from 84% before COVID-19. The…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is hosting a new dashboard—Respiratory Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network (RESP-NET)—that tracks hospitalization rates for laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, influenza, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) by age, sex, race/ethnicity, state, and season. The information is based on data from a network of acute…

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Editor's Note According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022 ended on a high note as far as healthcare employment trends go, with December reflecting 16,687,700 employed workers—up 54,700 from November—and a rise of 15,700 in hospital jobs. Overall healthcare job growth in 2022 averaged 49,000 jobs each month, compared with…

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Editor's Note In this study conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota and by Beth Virnig, PhD, MPH, dean of the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, data shows that ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations have more than doubled from 2016 to 2021, Healthcare Purchasing…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York City, finds that race, ethnicity, and area-level social determinants of health (SDOH) were associated with delayed or discontinued cancer treatments and longer delays to restart drug-based therapies after COVID-19 infections. The analysis included data on…

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Editor's Note ECRI on January18 published its Top 10 Health Technology Hazards report for 2023, which includes: Gaps in recalls for at-home medical devices Defective single-use medical devices Automated dispensing cabinet overrides Undetected venous needle dislodgement Cybersecurity risks associated with cloud-based clinical systems Inflatable pressure infusers Confusion about ventilator cleaning…

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