Editor's Note An analysis of more than 71,000 shooting incidents in five major US cities has identified lesser-known factors that are linked to increased firearm assaults, according to a September 13 news release from the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Researchers found that fatal and nonfatal firearm assaults were clustered…

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Editor's Note On September 17, World Patient Safety Day, The Joint Commission is partnering with the World Health Organization in recognizing the shared commitment to safe, equitable, high quality care for all and asks all accredited organizations and partners to join in the recognition. This year’s theme, “Engaging patients for…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS), on September 12, announced a new quality improvement (QI) project that will evaluate the most effective ways to help patients safely manage postoperative pain and reduce the risk of opioid dependence. The project will be conducted in collaboration with Health Care Service…

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Editor's Note This multisite study, led by Durham VA Medical Center and Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, finds that bariatric surgery is associated with greater risks of suicidal ideation (ie, suicidal thoughts or ideas) and suicide attempts than nonsurgical treatments in obese patients. For the analysis, 38,199 patients in the…

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Editor's Note The COVID-19 hospital admission rate in the US rose some 16% to more than 17,400 for the week ending August 26, and deaths increased by nearly 18% from the prior week, the September 7 New York Times reports. This marks the seventh consecutive week of increases. The Omicron…

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Editor's Note Rural populations are challenged with access to consistent specialist care, with an average of just 11% of the volume of specialists per 100,000 residents compared to urban areas, according to the National Rural Health Associations. In an effort to combat the shortage of specialists, Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in Alaska…

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Editor's Note This multi-center study, led by the University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, examines the effect of in-house call on sleep patterns and burnout among acute care surgeons. Physiological and survey data of 224 acute care surgeons on in-house call were collected over a 6-month period and included in the…

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Editor's Note For Pain Awareness Month, the American College of Surgeons (ACS), on September 6, shared three tips for managing pain after surgery. Jonah J. Stulberg, MD, PhD, MPH, FACS, a member of the ACS Patient Education Committee and vice chair of research for the department of surgery at UT…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, finds that Medicare patients having common surgical procedures in health professional shortage area hospitals obtain safe care without evidence of higher expenditures. A total of 842,787 Medicare patients undergoing appendectomy, cholecystectomy, colectomy, or hernia repair between 2014 and 2018…

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Editor's Note In this study from the RAND Corporation, researchers examine how clinicians experienced their role as they cared for dying patients with COVID-19 and how these experiences impacted their lives as healthcare professionals. A total of 23 clinicians (11 physicians and 12 nurses) in critical care and emergency department…

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