Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 7 released its 2016 Annual Report: “America’s Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety.” The report, which includes information on how more than 3,300 accredited hospitals performed on measures of patient care in 2015, showed that hospital performance continued to improve, greatly enhancing quality of…

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Editor's Note The ECRI Institute has issued a white paper titled, “Responsive staffing and scheduling in aging services: A systems rethinking approach.” Problems in staffing and scheduling can lead to potentially dangerous conditions, which can cause performance gaps in delivery of care and services. To better address these problems, providers…

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Editor's Note This study from the Mayo Clinic found that intraoperative hypothermia was not significantly associated with surgical site infections (SSIs). Among the findings: Compliance with Surgical Care Improvement Project Performance Measure “Surgery Patients with Perioperative Temperature Management” (SCIP-Inf-10) overall and its components (maintenance of minimum body temperature and use…

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Editor's Note ECRI Institute (Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania) on November 7 released its Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2017. Several are specific to the OR. Topping the list is infusion errors, followed by inadequate cleaning of complex reusable instruments. Infection risks with heater-cooler devices used in cardiac surgery is fifth,…

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Editor's Note For older hip fracture patients, the care they received at a postacute care facility had a three to eight times greater impact on their long-term recovery than the care they received at the hospital, this study finds. Nursing home factors explained three times more variation in the odds…

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Editor's Note The World Health Organization (WHO) on November 3 released the “Global Guidelines for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infection,” which includes a list of 29 recommendations (13 preoperative and 16 intra- and postoperative). Included in the recommendations are: ensuring patients take a preoperative bath or shower no shaving…

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Editor's Note The first national quality improvement (QI) program for bariatric surgery reduced readmissions by more than 30% for some hospitals, finds this study presented November 2 at ObesityWeek 2016, the annual conference of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). The average hospital saw 30-day readmissions drop…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Colorado Hospital, Centennial, found that the five primary high touch surfaces in the OR (in order) are: anesthesia computer mouse OR bed nurse computer mouse OR door anesthesia cart. The study also demonstrated that low touch areas were less contaminated than high…

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Editor's Note The Leapfrog Group on October 31 released it’s biannual hospital safety report card. Of 2,812 facilities graded, 844 received an A grade, 658 received a B, 954 received a C, 157 received a D, and 20 received an F. According to Leapfrog, the measures used by Leapfrog, Medicare,…

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Editor's Note Use of the Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) model in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis undergoing posterior spinal fusion improved surgical outcomes, this study finds. A multidisciplinary group created evidence-based protocols for preoperative, postoperative, and postdischarge patient care. Anesthesiologist comanagement of patients also allowed a new pathway for patients…

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