Editor's Note Female patients undergoing heart surgery are less likely than male patients to have concomitant procedures—that is, having additional ailments addressed during cardiac procedures—despite guidelines recommending such treatments, according to two studies led by Michigan Medicine. News-Medical.Net reported the news June 28. The first study, involving over 5,000 patients…

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Editor's Note On June 27, The Justice Department announced the 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action, leading to criminal charges against 193 defendants, including 76 medical professionals across 32 federal districts in the U.S. for their involvement in various health care fraud schemes. These schemes accounted for approximately $2.75…

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Editor's Note Research presented at this year’s Digestive Disease Week in May highlights the potential health risks posed by smoke generated during tissue-cutting ablations in gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News May 18 reports. Unlike surgeons in ORs, who follow specific regulations to mitigate smoke exposure, GI endoscopy procedures…

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Editor's Note Starting August 1, ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) will need to comply with new and revised requirements for Life Safety Code® and patient rights, a June 26 news update from The Joint Commission reports. These updates align with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Conditions for Coverage.…

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Editor's Note New research highlights sharp, nationwide increases in both male and female sterilization procedures since the Supreme Court overturned landmark decision Roe vs. Wade in 2022. Published in JAMA Health Forum, the research on how many 18- to 30-year-olds were getting sterilized before and after the ruling was the…

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Editor's Note Although SecurityScorecard gave the US healthcare a “better than expected” B+ rating for cybersecurity in 2024, the supply chain cybersecurity firm also highlighted significant risks in application and endpoint security, HealthcareIT News reported June 25.   Overall, 35% of third-party data breaches in 2023 affected healthcare organizations, the…

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Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration has announced class 1 recalls—the most severe category indicating risk of serious injury or death—for Abbot Medical’s HeartMate System Monitor and Philips Respironics OmniLab Advanced+ (OLA+) ventilator. According to the agency’s June 28 report, the recall of the HeartMate System Monitor, part…

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Editor's Note Amid continued debate about the best choice of preoperative skin antiseptic, findings published in JAMA June 17 show that povidone iodine in alcohol offers similar outcomes to chlorhexidine gluconate when used in alcohol. The randomized clinical trial included 3,360 patients in 3 tertiary care hospitals in Switzerland, 2,187…

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Editor's Note Findings published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons show how a standardized handoff protocol can improve OR communication and reduce the risk of error, Medical Xpress reported on June 19. The study focused specifically on SHRIMPS, a standardized handoff protocol developed by the quality improvement…

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Editor's Note Alarm failures and missing details in instructional materials prompted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue class 1 recalls—the most severe category indicating risk of serious injury or death—for two different ventilator models on June 27. According to the report, failure in the Ventilator Inoperative alarm…

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