Editor's Note In this study, the composite outcomes of death, stroke, myocardial infarction, renal failure, or repeat revascularization at 5 year follow-up were similar for patients who had off-pump and on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures. The researchers also found no significant difference in cost or quality of life…

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Editor's Note This meta-analysis found that the overall rate of attrition among general surgery residents was 18%, and that the most common causes of attrition were uncontrollable lifestyle and choosing to join another specialty. Of 19,821 general surgery residents involved in the analysis, attrition was significantly higher for females compared…

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Surgical site infections (SSIs) not only harm patients, but also can squeeze a hospital’s bottom line through increased costs and reduced reimbursement. Patients undergoing colorectal surgery are particularly at risk for SSIs, according to data from the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), but an effective multidisciplinary team and an evidence-based…

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Physicians receive little leadership training in medical school, so they don’t always perform well in leadership roles. At Florida Hospital Orlando, that education gap is being filled through the Physician Leader Development (PLD) program, which applies military leadership principles to the healthcare setting. The innovative course has benefited not only…

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Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a major cause of morbidity in surgical patients, leading to increased length of stay and healthcare costs. No single intervention has demonstrated efficacy in reducing SSIs. When SSIs rose to a rate of 16.3% in 2013 at St Elizabeth Boardman Hospital in Boardman, Ohio, perioperative…

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Increasing costs and shrinking margins have continued to pressure business managers and senior hospital leadership to rethink strategies for raising surgeons’ awareness of product and nonlabor costs within the OR. Often providers are asked to cut costs but are unaware of the actual costs of the products they use. In…

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Editor's Note Surgical site infection (SSI) risk for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and hip arthroplasty patients is highest in hospitals with low annual procedure volumes, yet these hospitals are excluded from quality reporting, this study finds. Even for high-volume hospitals, year-to-year variation in SSI rates makes past performance an…

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Editor's Note Giving monthly cost feedback scorecards to surgeons was associated with significantly reduced surgical supply costs, without negatively affecting patient outcomes in this study. Of 249 surgeons representing 10 specialties, 63 were in the intervention group and 186 were in the control group. Surgeons in the intervention group each…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 7 announced that it is offering a new Comprehensive Cardiac Center Certification, starting January 1. The voluntary program has been developed to recognize accredited hospitals that demonstrate excellence in delivering cardiac care through a combination of standards compliance, performance on targeted metrics, and…

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Editor's Note Engaging colon cancer patients in a prehabilitation program 4 weeks before surgery modified exercise behaviors and improved physical function, which improved postoperative outcomes, finds this study. Researchers randomized 116 patients to either a prehabilitation program (57 patients) or a control group (59 patients). After 4 weeks, compared with…

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