Editor's Note According to the February 2 Becker’s ASC Review, two ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) recently filed lawsuits against insurance payers over reimbursement, or lack thereof, for spinal procedures. Surgery Center of Viera, based in Melbourne, Florida, filed its lawsuit January 20 against Cigna and consulting services Strategic Enterprise Solutions…

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Editor's Note This multicenter study by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, finds that COVID-19 patients have a significantly high risk for postoperative complications, particularly elderly males. Of 1,581 patients analyzed, more than half were males over 50 years of age, and most procedures (1,261,…

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Editor's Note Reducing OR time availability at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, Pittsburgh, by 15% helped address a 30% staffing shortage caused by COVID-19, according to a study presented January 29 at the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ ADVANCE 2022, the Anesthesiology Business Event in Dallas. A five-phase approach was used, which included:…

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Editor's Note The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR), designed by a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University, has performed laparoscopic intestinal anastomoses in four experiments on pig tissue without human help. The robot outperformed surgeons using manual-laparoscopic and robot-assisted surgical techniques in the consistency of suture spacing and bite…

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Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, finds that from August 2020 through September 2021, 7% of lung transplantations in the US were performed in patients with COVID-19-related respiratory failure. In this analysis of 3,039 lung transplants, 214 were…

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Editor's Note In this viewpoint, researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine, note that it is unclear whether cardiovascular complications associated with COVID-19 persist beyond the acute phase of illness and whether a history of COVID-19 warrants any additional preoperative cardiac assessments before having elective surgery. They review the literature…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, finds that major elective surgery performed 0 to 4 weeks after COVID-19 infection is linked to an increased risk of postoperative complications. Of 5,479 patients analyzed, those who had surgery 0 to 4…

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Editor's Note Hip fracture surgery volumes in individuals 65 years and older were lower during the pandemic than 2 years before, which contrasts with that seen in the general population, this study from Kaiser Permanente researchers finds. The analysis includes 18,288 patients aged 65 years or older who had hip…

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As representatives of a global healthcare solutions company, we talk and listen to clinicians at hospitals around the country. One of the issues that continually surfaces is that physician preference cards (PPCs) are a challenge at their hospitals. We hear many frustrations related to supply chain documentation. In the end, it all comes…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at Indiana University and the University of Michigan finds that emergency departments (EDs) are a significant factor in preventing readmissions after major surgery. Researchers analyzed the electronic health records of nearly 2 million Medicare beneficiaries who had one of five surgical procedures (ie, percutaneous…

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