Safety/Quality
Ice machines spread Legionella in hospital oncology unit, prompting testing overhaul
Editor's Note Legionalla contaminated a hospital ice machine and likely infected an oncology patient through aspirated ice chips, according to an April 30 report in Healio. Presented in a study at The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the incident prompted immediate changes to water testing protocols at AdventHealth,…
FDA fast-tracks generative AI rollout amid growing safety concerns
Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is deploying generative AI across all its centers by June 30, aiming to accelerate drug reviews and reduce bureaucratic workload even as experts and critics express worries about data security, reliability, and other safety concerns. Medical Design & Outsourcing reported the…
Surveyed nurses report widespread burnout, urge system-wide reform
Editor's Note Nurses continue to face high stress, burnout, and understaffing, according to the State of Nursing in 2025 report by Cross Country Healthcare and FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. As detailed in an April 29 summary from Florida Atlantic University, the report is based on responses from…
Surgeons remove spinal tumor through eye socket in unprecedented procedure
Editor's Note In a world-first procedure, surgeons used an innovative transorbital approach to access a cancerous chordoma wrapped around the cervical vertebrae and spinal cord of a 19-year-old woman, bypassing structures that would have been endangered by a more traditional surgical route. Medical Xpress reported the news May 5. As…
Commentary: Systemic trauma, not burnout, drives healthcare’s workforce crisis
Editor's Note Healthcare’s workforce crisis stems from systemic trauma—not individual burnout. That’s the central argument of a commentary published April 30 in MedPage Today, in which Taylor Nichols, MD, a board-certified physician in emergency medicine and addiction medicine, calls for a sweeping shift in how healthcare-associated stress is understood and…
Federal grant cuts threaten hospital disaster readiness
Editor's Note Eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) key disaster preparedness grants could weaken hospital infrastructure and jeopardize care during future crises, according to a May 5 report in Modern Healthcare. As detailed in the article, the Trump administration has cut $3.3 billion in annual funding by ending the…
Study: Outpatient PCI safety comparable for ASCs, HOPDs
Editor's Note The first study to evaluate percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in Medicare beneficiaries treated at ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) found similar short-term safety outcomes as hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs). As detailed in an announcement from The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI), the research was presented on May…
Study: Knowledge gaps hinder perioperative hypothermia prevention
Editor's Note Surgical staff support for OR temperature management is not always paired with the knowledge required to properly prevent perioperative hypothermia, according to an April 30 study in Nature: Scientific Reports. This multicenter, cross-sectional study surveyed 213 operating room professionals—surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses—across eight hospitals in northern China. The…
Scientists question NIH's $500M bet on old vaccine technology
Editor's Note The NIH’s $500 million investment in developing whole killed virus vaccines has drawn criticism from vaccine experts who argue the platform is outdated and lacks transparency, according to a May 3 report in STAT. As detailed in the article, scientists expressed concern that the project—led by NIH insiders…
Study: Inadequate RN staffing raises patient mortality, costs
Editor's Note Short-staffed hospital wards face higher patient mortality, readmissions, and lengthier stays—especially when they rely on temporary staff instead of permanent registered nurses, according to research published in BMJ Quality & Safety. As detailed in a summary from Medscape News UK, the large-scale, longitudinal observational study was led by…
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- Study: Fewer men undergo unnecessary prostate cancer surgery amid rise in active surveillance
- OpenAI benchmarking tool tests healthcare LLMs
- Healthgrades recognizes top 15% of hospitals for patient experience in 2025
- Q1 reports show climb in outpatient surgical volume, diverging trends at Surgery Partners, Ardent Health
- Study: SGLT2 inhibitors raise postop euglycemic ketoacidosis risk but lower mortality
- FDA launches effort to identify, slash outdated healthcare regulations under 10-to-1 rule
- The Joint Commission, NFQ announce 2024 Eisenberg Award recipients
- Low-income patients billed despite hospital tax breaks
- Report: Global nurse shortage widens inequities, fuels migration risks
- Study: Machine learning quadruples delirium detection in hospitalized older adults