Editor's Note According to medical experts, healthcare professionals in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) must be more vigilant in recognizing and managing suicidal ideation among patients, Pain Medicine News January 27 reports. With the increasing shift of surgical procedures from hospitals to ASCs, clinicians are more likely to encounter patients struggling…

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There is no shortage of advice, opinions, and proposed solutions when it comes to staff shortages, but the issue continues to plague healthcare systems nonetheless. For a couple of years now, speakers at the OR Business Management Conference and OR Manager Conference have been asking attendees, “Who still struggles to…

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Editor's Note A June 6 meeting on gun violence prevention at the White House attracted more than 80 top health care executives to lend expertise on mental health, gunshot wounds, and more, Becker’s Hospital Review reports.   Hosted by the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, established in 2023,…

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Editor's Note A study from the Joint Commission found that more than 25 percent of hospitals have not adopted any of the four policies identified by the organization as best-practice, evidence-based discharge practices for preventing suicide in at-risk patients.   According to a March 12 report on the implementation gap…

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Editor's Note Nearly 100 house and senate staff attended a January 30 briefing on the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act, a bill under congressional consideration that aims to protect healthcare workers from assault or intimidation while on the job. In addition to criminalizing these acts, the bill…

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Editor's Note Starting January 1, healthcare organizations must consider an expanded timeframe and range of care services when reporting patient suicide as a sentinel event to The Joint Commission. According to the December 13 announcement of the change to the organization’s Sentinel Event Policy, the revised definition “better reflects current…

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Editor's Note Data from The Joint Commission on sentinel events—events that result in patient death or serious harm—for the first half of 2023 are out and look to be on par with last year’s all-time high numbers, Becker's Clinical Leadership October 2 reports. Data from 2022 showed events rising to…

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Editor's Note This multisite study, led by Durham VA Medical Center and Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, finds that bariatric surgery is associated with greater risks of suicidal ideation (ie, suicidal thoughts or ideas) and suicide attempts than nonsurgical treatments in obese patients. For the analysis, 38,199 patients in the…

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Editor's Note The annual Commonwealth Fund’s Scorecard on State Health System Performance, released June 22, finds an increase in preventable deaths in all states in 2021, especially among Blacks and American Indian/Alaska Native people, and a nearly two-fold increase in maternal mortality from 2018 to 2021. Massachusetts, Hawaii, and New…

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Editor's Note New safety considerations for using validated suicide risk screening tools related to implementation and training were released by The Joint Commission on March 27. When working with patients at risk of suicide, screening tools can help determine appropriate treatment options and whether further assessment is needed. However, it…

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