Editor's Note Most Americans do not think healthcare prices and quality are associated and may avoid low-price care, finds this study. Depending on how the question was framed, 58% to 71% of Americans in a nationally representative survey did not associate healthcare prices and quality. A minority did perceive an…

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Editor's Note How well a hospital performs financially is not associated with improved clinical outcomes, this study finds. Researchers examined the association between financial performance for nearly 280 hospitals against their 30-day mortality and readmission rates for acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia. The findings suggest that hospitals…

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Editor's Note Use of an Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) program in total hip and total knee patients reduced length of stay by 1 day in this study. Short term complications and readmission rates were similar for patients in the ERAS program and those managed in a traditional perioperative care…

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H ealthcare trends come and go, but one that shows no signs of stopping is value-based payment. Just this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replace-ment (CCJR) model, which mandates bundled payment for two of the most common surgical procedures in the…

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Editor's Note Physician practices each year spend 785 hours per physician to track and report quality measures for Medicare and private health insurers at a cost of  more than $15.4 billion a year, this study finds. Eight in 10 physicians surveyed reported spending more effort on quality measures now than…

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Editor's Note Readmissions after total hip and knee replacements are associated with nurse staffing levels and poor nurse work environments, finds this study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia. The study analyzed data on more than 112,000 Medicare patients in nearly 500 hospitals. Adjusting for patient and…

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Editor's Note Though cancer rates have remained the same, the rate of women having mastectomies increased 36% between 2005 and 2013, according to new data released February 22 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The analysis also showed the rate of double mastectomies more than tripling, and…

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Editor's Note Bariatric surgery before total knee replacement (TKR) is cost-effective in improving outcomes in obese patients, this study finds. Researchers used a computer software program to compare the cost utility of two treatment protocols for patients who were morbidly obese and had advanced knee osteoarthritis. The model predicted that…

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Editor's Note Carotid artery stenting and surgery are equally effective at lowering the long-term risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, or death, finds this study led by researchers from the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. The risk of stroke after either stenting or surgery was about 7%, and the development of restenosis…

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Certain topics in OR Manager bear repeating, and high reliability is one example. The concept, put forth by the Joint Commission in 2013 to improve quality and safety of patient care, is slowly gaining traction as more facilities embrace its principles. Last March, we reported on high reliability practices at…

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