Editor's Note Public reporting may discourage physicians from offering lifesaving treatment to patients who are at the greatest risk for mortality and poor outcomes, this study finds. Of 45,000 cardiac patients analyzed, the researchers found that physicians were 28% more likely to perform percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) on patients who…

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Editor's Note Implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) could threaten physicians’ autonomy in making decisions for their patients, provide burdensome levels of documentation, and pressure some solo and small practices to close, according to an analysis in the July 23 Medical Economics. MACRA also could contribute…

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Personal wearable technology, which covers the gamut from activity trackers such as Fitbit to e-textiles that monitor vital signs, have the potential to revolutionize healthcare. Like most innovations, however, the technology comes with risks. For OR leaders, those risks include possible security breaches, distractions, and violation of patient privacy and…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are recommending using unique device identifiers (UDIs) in universal health insurance claims forms to improve value-based reimbursement for medical devices and postmarket surveillance, the July 14 Modern Healthcare reports. Proponents say UDIs could help…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 1 released a final rule that allows certain CMS-approved organizations, including for-profit companies and government entities, to buy Medicare claims and other federal data at a price matching the governments’ cost of processing the data, Modern Healthcare reports.…

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Editor's Note This study finds that physicians who use electronic health records (EHRs) have higher rates of burnout and are more likely to be dissatisfied with their jobs because of the amount of time spent completing computerized medical forms. The findings, based on a survey of 6,375 physicians, found that…

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Editor's Note Septicemia was the most expensive condition treated in US hospitals in 2013, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Others in the top 20 most expensive were: osteoarthritis, 2nd complications of device, implant, or graft, 4th complications of surgical procedures or medical care, 13th hip fracture,…

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Editor's Note Medical chart review for surgical site infections (SSIs) that were identified through administrative data is an efficient supplemental SSI surveillance strategy following total hip and knee arthroplasty, this study finds. Of 162 patients with potential SSIs identified by diagnosis or procedure code, 46 (28%) were confirmed as an…

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In this challenging healthcare environment, OR leaders have a fiscal responsibility to help hospitals meet financial goals that contribute to a healthy bottom line. There is no more expensive procedure you can have in the hospital than to spend time in the OR,” says Keith Siddel, PhDc, JD, MBA, CHC.…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on May 4 released comprehensive ambulatory surgery center (ASC) quality data reports compiled through its Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR) program. Among the data reported are: Quality data code-based measures, such as wrong site, side, patient, procedure, implant Safe…

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