Editor's Note Nearly 5,000 healthcare workers at Providence Health in Oregon secured substantial wage increases and improved staffing plans, ending a historic six-week strike that began January 10, according to a February 25 article in MedPage Today. According to the article, the strike involved eight RN bargaining units and marked…

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Editor's Note A February 21 article in Modern Healthcare details how surgical robots are delivering faster procedures, improving patient outcomes, and boosting hospital profits. As detailed in the article, the global surgical robotics market has quadrupled since 2015, growing from $800 million to approximately $3 to $3.5 billion in 2023…

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Editor's Note Wildfire smoke is driving up borrowing costs for hospitals and healthcare facilities, potentially leading to higher patient care costs, according to new research from the University of Nevada, Reno. As detailed in a February 18 article in Nevada Today, findings show municipal bond investors are factoring wildfire smoke…

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Editor's Note US hospitals face a growing risk of bed shortages as an aging population drives up hospitalization rates, according to research published February 19 in Jama Network. Leveraging COVID-19-era occupancy data, the study projects national hospital occupancy could reach 85% by 2032 for adult beds and by 2035 for…

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Editor’s Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated Boston Scientific Corporation’s recall of Accolade Pacemaker devices a Class 1, the most severe category indicating serious risk of injury or death. According to the agency’s February 21 announcement, the recall was motivated by a manufacturing issue that could…

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Editor’s Note Backdoors in Chinese-made medical monitors could put patients at risk and compromise hospital networks across the US, according to security agencies quoted in a February 23 report from CNBC. The article cites the popular Contec CMS8000 patient monitor as an example. Both the US Food and Drug Administration…

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Editor’s Note Preoperative use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) does not increase the risk of postoperative diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in patients undergoing emergency surgery, according to a study published February 19 in JAMA Surgery. These findings challenge the current FDA recommendation to withhold SGLT2i medications for at least three…

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Editor's Note AI-generated operative reports for robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) were more accurate than those written by surgeons in a study published February 7 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Analyzing 158 cases from a tertiary referral center, researchers tested an AI computer-vision algorithm on surgical video…

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Editor’s Note Large language models (LLMs) outperformed traditional methods in predicting postoperative complications, according to a study on artificial intelligence (AI) in perioperative risk assessment published February 11 in the journal Nature. Results indicate AI-driven models could enhance patient safety and streamline clinical workflows by detecting complications earlier. Researchers analyzed…

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Editor’s Note In a setback for healthcare mergers and acquisitions (M&A), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will continue enforcing strict antitrust guidelines established under the Biden administration, Healthcare Dive February 19 reports. Bucking expectations of a more lenient approach under the new administration, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson confirmed the decision,…

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