Hospitals with better nursing work environments and above-average staffing levels were associated with better surgical value (ie, lower mortality with similar costs) in this study, especially for higher-risk patients. Past studies have shown that hospitals with better nursing work environments provide better quality of care, but less is known about…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and major health insurance plans, in concert with physician groups and other stakeholders, on February 16 announced a new agreement to standardize measures of quality for physicians. The agreement outlines seven core measure sets to be used as a basis…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 16 launched a new initiative called “Pioneers in Quality.” The program provides education and support for hospitals as they strive to meet the growing requirements for electronic clinical quality measures. Key components of the initiative include: Educational webinars Resource portal Modified annual report focusing…

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Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists and Premiere on February 9 announced results from the first phase of the Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) learning collaborative. The collaborative included 44 healthcare organizations that piloted and evaluated the PSH model from July 2014 through November 2015. Many members of the collaborative…

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Editor's Note Increased patient cost-sharing among privately insured, nonelderly patients was associated with lower odds of readmission after abdominal surgery in this study. A $1,284 increase in patient out-of-pocket payments during admission for surgery was associated with a 19% decrease in the odds of 7-day readmission and a 17% decrease…

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Editor's Note Implementation of a surgical safety checklist was associated with a statistically significant 27% reduction in 90-day all cause postoperative mortality, while 30-day mortality remained unchanged in this study. The checklist was also associated with a reduction in length of stay but not 30-day readmission rates. This is the…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on February 2 extended the deadline for sending feedback on electronic health record (EHR) certification and quality reporting to February 16, 2016. The request for information is part of an effort by CMS to streamline and reduce the burden of…

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Editor's Note The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore sustained top performance on all Joint Commission accountability measures from 2012 through 2014, and now more than 96% of patients receive recommended care consistent with national quality measures, this study finds. The sustainability process included: declaring and communicating goals creating an enabling…

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Editor's Note Hospitals with better nursing work environments and above-average staffing levels were associated with better surgical value (ie, lower mortality with similar costs), especially for higher-risk patients, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, found. The study compared outcomes and patient costs at 35 focal hospitals recognized nationally as…

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Editor's Note Analyzing data from the National Cancer Data Base, researchers found that rectal cancer patients who had surgery at precisely 8 weeks (56 days) after the end of combined chemoradiotherapy had the best overall survival and successful removal of their residual tumors. This 6-year study of nearly 12,000 patients…

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