Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on April 14, announced that new Heads-Up Reports for first quarter 2021 are now available for all accredited programs. The downloadable report is posted in the “Resources and Tools” section of an organization’s secure Joint Commission Connect extranet site. Each report identifies important topics or…

Read More

Editor's Note In this study from the University of Denver and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, respondents to two surveys agreed with the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s prioritization framework for COVID-19 vaccination. Of 4,735 respondents (2,730 to a Gallup survey and 2,005 to a COVID Collaborative survey):…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on April 14, issued Sentinel Event Alert 63: Optimizing smart infusion pump safety with DERS [dose error reduction software]. Though smart infusion pumps combine computer technology and drug libraries (stored in DERS) to limit the potential for dosing errors, errors still occur each year. Bypassing…

Read More

Editor's Note In this study, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, find that ambulatory surgery offers significant cost savings and generally superior 30-day outcomes compared to inpatient surgery. Of 73,724 patients having hernia repair, primary total or partial thyroidectomy, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or laparoscopic appendectomy in…

Read More

Editor's Note This study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, estimates the national revenue loss because of cessation of major elective surgeries during COVID-19 to be $22.3 billion. Sensitivity analysis finds that the recovery time to market equilibrium once elective surgeries fully resume is…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA), on April 9, identified the recall of Medtronic’s Valiant Navion Thoracic Stent Graft System as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the risk of stent fractures and endoleak concerns. The system is used to repair lesions of…

Read More

Editor's Note In response to a May 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services final rule on interoperability and patient access, The Joint Commission has created new requirements that address patient admission, discharge, and transfer notifications. The new requirements, which apply to hospitals and critical access hospitals, address the electronic…

Read More

Editor's Note This multicenter retrospective study led by researchers from George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, found that aspirin use by COVID-19 patients was associated with improved outcomes. Of 412 COVID-19 patients included in the study, 314 (76.3%) did not receive aspirin, and 98 (23.7%) received aspirin within…

Read More

Editor's Note This survey finds that 21% of faculty, staff, and trainees at University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, have considered quitting their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 30% considered reducing hours because of COVID-19-related stress. Other findings of the survey (5,030 respondents), which looked at childcare, career…

Read More

Editor's Note In a science brief based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) analysis of the latest available data, the agency says the risk of getting COVID-19 from surfaces “is generally considered to be low.” The CDC noted that: The risk of COVID-19 infection via surface transmission…

Read More