Editor's Note This study found that opioid prescribing can be decreased by more than 50% and not adversely affect patients’ satisfaction scores with their surgeons. Of 996 patients surveyed on their satisfaction with their surgeons before (period A) and after (period B) an educational intervention that resulted in decreased opioid…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 16 announced that it was seeking comments on proposed standards for the Advanced Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement Certification program for hospitals, critical access hospitals, and ambulatory surgery centers. The new standards were developed to further promote patient safety and quality of…

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Editor's Note The University of California San Diego School of Medicine announced October 14 that it has expanded its Center for the Future of Surgery, one of few facilities in the world that teaches surgery in high-tech simulated ORs. This fall, the 22,000 sq-ft center added a new hybrid OR…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on Octobere 9 that the 2020 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) are now available on its website. Included are the revised elements of performance “NPSG.15.01.01: Reduce the risk for suicide” that went into effect earlier this year. The new requirements are designed to improve…

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Editor's Note Using machine learning on electronic health record (EHR) postoperative data linked to the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) outcomes data, researchers developed a model with 163 predictors of postoperative complications at the University of Colorado Hospital. Of 6,840 patients analyzed with the…

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Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on October 7 released its annual safety report identifying the top 10 device hazards in hospitals, medical practices, and homecare for 2020. Topping the list was surgical stapler misuse and malfunction that can lead to patient harm. Third on the list is sterile processing errors…

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Editor's Note This study from researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found a consistent, strong association between geographic indicators for socioeconomic status and important surgical outcomes. Of 1,573,740 hospital discharges analyzed, adjusted odds of inpatient mortality significantly increased as geographic distress increased across all measures of geographic risk. The odds of…

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Editor's Note Nurses have always played an important role when new health information technology (IT) has been implemented, and the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and the changes it can bring to healthcare will be no exception, reports the September 27 HealthcareITNews. Though some nurses may view AI as another…

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Editor's Note Social risk factors were inconsistently associated with surgical site infection (SSI) rates after colectomy or abdominal hysterectomy in this study. In this analysis of 149,741 patients, Medicaid status (a marker for poverty) and living in a low-income zip code were linked to higher SSI rates after colectomy. For…

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Editor's Note In this study of patients with displaced femoral neck fractures, the incidence of secondary procedures did not differ significantly between patients who had total hip arthroplasty (THA) and those who had hemiarthroplasty. THA was associated with modestly better function over 2 years but with a slightly higher incidence…

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