Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 15 identified the recall by GE HealthCare of its Nuclear Medicine 600/800 Series systems as Class I, the most serious.  The recall was initiated because of an issue with two mechanisms that prevent uncontrolled detector movement. If the mechanisms fail,…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, finds that network facilities had higher negotiated prices for surgical procedures, and there is wide variability across facilities in and out of hospital networks. A total of 3,195 hospitals were included in the analysis. Among the findings: For 15…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 8 identified the recall by Universal Meditech Inc of its Skippack Medical Lab SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test (Colloidal Gold) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the tests were distributed to US customers without authorization, clearance,…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 2 identified the recall by Smiths Medical of certain CADDTM Infusion System Administration Sets and Cassette Reservoirs as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of tubing occlusion and false “no disposable attached” alarm issues, which may…

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Editor’s Note “What problem does your OR have that you would like to solve?” posed Pamela Hunt, BS, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Executive Advisory, Consultant and Associate Faculty, Kelly School of Business, Indiana University, to the audience at the OR Business Management Conference. During her session, "No Margin, No Mission:…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois, and Edward Hines Jr Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, Illinois, finds that core general surgery cases performed by senior-level residents can be done safely without the attending surgeons scrubbed in. Of 109,707 patients analyzed, 11,181 had procedures…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 1 announced a new search site that is available for finding Joint Commission-accredited organizations that provide substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and the levels of care they provide. Individuals seeking care, providers, state authorities, and payers can search by organization name or location…

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Editor's Note This study from the Netherlands finds the addition of postoperative visits by anesthesia personnel (anesthesiologists or residents) to routine monitoring with modified early warning scores (MEWS) did not reduce 30-day mortality. A total of 5,190 (2,490 control, 2,700 intervention) medium- to high-risk elective surgical patients from nine academic…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 30 identified the recall by Medtronic of its Mahurkar Acute Dual Lumen High Flow (13.5 French) Hemodialysis Catheters (Mahurkar QPlus) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a potential catheter hub defect that may cause…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, finds that characteristics of patients’ neighborhoods and hospitals where they received treatment were both associated with postoperative mortality. This analysis included 1,898,829 Medicare beneficiaries from all neighborhood types undergoing one of five common surgical procedures in…

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