Editor's Note The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announced October 23 that free informational webinars will start October 29 for hospitals interested in implementing the AHRQ Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery for gynecology, colorectal, hip fracture, or joint replacement procedures. The Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute…

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Editor's Note The Leapfrog Group announced October 16 that it would expand its public reporting to outpatient settings. For the first time, Leapfrog will collect quality and safety data on ambulatory surgery centers through a new voluntary survey, and hospital outpatient surgery departments will report data through a new section…

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Many healthcare organizations have adopted Lean processes to save money, improve workflow, and reduce waste. But it’s not just process change that drives success. It’s the individuals—especially those on the front lines—who work together to identify problems and solutions. It’s also ongoing efforts to sustain changes once they have been…

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Editor's Note The Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) model of care was successful in improving quality of care and outcomes in elderly hip fracture patients and children having cardiac surgery in two studies presented October 14 at the Anesthesiology 2018 annual meeting in San Francisco. One study compared 308 hip fracture…

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Editor's Note In this study, the composition of the anesthesia care team (anesthesiologist plus nurse anesthetist or anesthesiologist assistant) was not associated with any significant differences in mortality, length of stay, or inpatient spending. Of 443,098 Medicare beneficiaries who had inpatient surgery between 2004 and 2011, the adjusted mortality for…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 3 announced that key updates are now available for its 2019 ORYX performance measurement program reporting requirements. The Joint Commission continues to align its performance measure reporting requirements with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which published its 2019 Inpatient Prospective Payment…

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Editor's Note In this multicenter, randomized controlled trial from the Netherlands, physical therapy was noninferior to early arthroscopic partial menisectomy for improving knee function in patients with nonobstructive meniscal tears. In this analysis of 321 (159 surgery, 162 physical therapy) patients, knee function improved by 20.4 points in the physical…

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Editor's Note The Women’s Choice Award announced on October 1 the Best Children’s Hospitals for 2019. The select group were chosen from nearly 60 Children’s Hospitals in the nation and represent those that have met the highest standards for childcare. Award winners include: Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, Omaha Connecticut…

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Editor's Note Accountable care organizations (ACOs) and other value-based payment (VBP) models are increasing in the US, and there is no longer any question of whether private payers and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will continue to support value-based payments, according to the August 14 Health Affairs…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 28 issued a notice proposing not to include three bulk FDA-approved drug substances−bumetanide, nicardipine hydrochloride, and vasopressin−on the list that outsourcing facilities may use in compounding drug products. The FDA is seeking public comment before finalizing their decision. Comments must…

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