Editor's Note Nearly 20% of patients are discharged before all vital signs are stable, which is associated with an increased risk of readmission and death, this study finds. Of 32,835 patients from six Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, hospitals analyzed, researchers found abnormalities in temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and…

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Editor's Note For four cardiovascular and four cancer procedures, surgeon specialization was an important predictor of operative mortality, independent of volume, this study finds. Analyzing Medicare data for more than 25,000 surgeons and nearly 700,000 patients, the relative risk reduction from greater specialization in the cardiovascular procedures ranged from 15%…

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Editor's Note The high proportion of emergent surgical cases that require vascular repair demonstrates the importance of having vascular surgeons immediately available at the hospital, this study finds. Of 299 patients in 12 surgical subspecialties that were included in the study, there were indications for vascular surgery assistance in 156…

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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 Surgeon buy-in and surgical teamwork were crucial in prompting case-related conversations but not in completing surgical safety checklists, this study finds. Of 207 procedures observed by 10 South Carolina hospitals, few teams completed most or all surgical safety checklist items. All measures of teamwork and surgeon buy-in related…

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Editor's Note A program for analyzing processes associated with catheter placement and removal for surgical patients decreased urinary tract infections (UTIs) for all hospitalized patients in this study presented at the 2016 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Conference in San Diego. The STOP UTI quality assessment…

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Editor's Note Patients who received high-quality discharge planning were less likely to be readmitted within 30 days, finds this study from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The study of 2.1 million patients in 16 states, who were treated for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, and total hip or…

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Editor's Note Implementing strategies to reduce the number of OR door openings during total hip and knee procedures helped lower surgical site infections (SSIs) in this study presented at the 2016 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Conference in San Diego. Strategies included stopping all traffic in…

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It was shortly after 2 am on Sunday, June 12. Ambulances, trucks, and cars started arriving at Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) loaded with shooting victims from a terrorist attack at the Pulse nightclub. Because ORMC was just a couple of blocks from the nightclub, first responders loaded multiple victims…

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When audits revealed areas of deficit in the sterile processing departments (SPDs) of the Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, leaders pulled together a team to help implement a quality improvement plan. By analyzing and standardizing their processes, creating auditing tools, and educating staff, they significantly increased quality scores throughout…

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