Editor's Note A new app developed by researchers in Japan aims to improve care coordination for nurses involved in managing critically ill patients on life support. The findings were published January 25 in the Japan Journal of Nursing Science.  Relying on the scoring system known as the Nurses' Care Coordinate…

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Editor's Note After three days of education and networking last week at the 2024 OR Business Management Conference (ORMBC) last week, we’ve already got our sights set on next year. Mark your calendar for February 9-12, 2025, for another chance to hone in on OR profitability at the 13th iteration…

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Editor's Note Large healthcare systems considering a centralized Value Analysis Committee (VAC) model potentially have much to learn from a 10-hospital organization operating in the Washington, DC and Maryland region. MedStar Health System’s still-ongoing transition from multiple, facility-based improvement committees is the subject of one of the first posters to…

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Editor's Note Although ChatGPT has shown human-level performance on several professional and academic benchmarks, a recent study of its potential for clinical applications raised questions among surgeon evaluators. Findings were reported in the journal Surgery on January 20. Specifically, researchers tested OpenAI’s general-purpose large-language model on questions from the Surgical…

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Editor's Note: Artificial intelligence (AI) leveraging machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP, a subset of machine learning) models can help identify donors with kidneys unsuitable for organ transplant, according to a study published November 1 in Jama Surgery. Despite the unmet need, many deceased-donor kidneys are discarded or…

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Editor's Note: A successful test of a genetically modified pig liver attached to a brain-dead human body could have significant implications for liver failure patients, the Associated Press reported January 18. Conducted at the University of Pennsylvania, the tested method is similar to kidney dialysis in that the genetically modified…

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Editor's Note: A recent study suggests artificial intelligence (AI) can be valuable for identifying patients who consumed risky amounts of of alcohol prior to surgery. Findings appeared in the journal Alcohol, Clinical and Experimental Research on January 8. For the study, researchers extracted 3 years of text-based clinical records from…

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Editor's Note:  Lack of quality vacation time explains part of the reason why so many physicians are experiencing burnout, according to a study published January 12 in Jama Network Open. Specifically, the study found that 7 out of 10 participating US physicians did at least some work on a typical…

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Editor's Note:  Surgeons successfully tested three fixes for a leaky heart valve on a biological pig heart fitted with a silicone robotic pump, HealthDay reported on January 11. According to the article, the biorobotic heart offers significant advantages over existing heart simulators. These include a longer shelf life, greater ability…

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Editor's Note:  Due to sex hormones, “the female brain is more resistant to the hypnotic effects of volatile anesthetics,” concludes a study published January 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. General anesthetics work in part by modulating the activity of hypothalamic circuits, which regulate sleep and…

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