Editor's Note On June 29, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a medical advisory alert "warning of a significant, high-risk vulnerability in Medtronic’s Paceart Optima System, which is used to compile and manage patients’ cardiac device data," the American Hospital Association (AHA) July 6 reports. According to CISA,…

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Editor's Note A recent study led by researchers at the McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston finds patients with cannabis use disorder are at a modestly increased risk of perioperative morbidity and mortality after major elective, inpatient, noncardiac surgery. Recently in the United…

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Editor's Note Since the divisive ruling on affirmative action from the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on June 29, which stated that "colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis in admissions—a landmark decision that will have profound impacts on higher education institutions including medical…

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Editor's Note The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published a new toolkit geared toward helping to improve complications and enhance patient recovery after surgical procedures, AHRQ News Now June 27 reports. The new toolkit, titled Toolkit for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery, "addresses common surgical complications such as surgical…

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Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) announced on June 29 that patients taking any of the currently popular medications for weight loss or for the treatment of type 2 diabetes should withhold the medication prior to elective surgery to "reduce the risk of complications associated with anesthesia in…

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Editor's Note Micobot Medical announced on June 29 that its LIBERTY Robotic Surgical System has completed an extended pre-clinical study in a New York-based research lab. With LIBERTY, the first single-use endovascular robotic surgical system, Microbot Medical aims to improve the way surgical robotics are used in endovascular procedures by…

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Editor's Note In a June 27 letter, the American Hospital Association (AHA) urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “to avoid disrupting healthcare delivery through the unintentional fracturing” of the medical device supply chain with its proposed ethylene oxide (EtO) standards. The EPA proposes: reducing EtO emissions by 80% adding new…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on June 28, announced that refreshed Accelerate PI Dashboard Reports are now available for primary (PSCs) and comprehensive (CSCs) stroke centers. The reports provide updated performance measurement data on quality measures selected for advanced PSC and CSC certification programs, through the fourth quarter of 2022.…

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Editor's Note This Australian study finds an association between psychosocial interventions to improve well-being and reduced healthcare use. A total of 41 studies and 7,842 participants were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Among the findings: An improvement in healthcare use was associated with social support interventions, but not…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on June 28, announced that refreshed Accelerate PI Dashboard Reports containing data through the fourth quarter of 2021 are now available for accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals. The reports come from chart-abstracted and electronic clinical quality measures data reported to The Joint Commission under…

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