Editor's Note Telehealth postoperative follow-up may be feasible for patients having select abdominal, neck, and skin/soft tissue procedures with uncomplicated courses, duration of stay less than 4 days, and no interval contact with the operative team, finds this study. The study included 251 veterans who had general surgery. A total…

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Editor's Note In the majority of patients with large or difficult to remove colorectal polyps, the incidence of cancer is much lower than previously thought, suggesting advanced endoscopic treatments may be a viable option to traditional colon resection, this study finds. Of 439 patients who had a colectomy at the…

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Editor's Note A significant association was found between the presence of viral RNA and the mobile phones of healthcare workers in this study from France. Virus RNA was detected on 42 of 109 (38.5%) mobile phones tested: rotavirus was found on 39, respiratory syncytial virus on 3, and metapneumovirus on…

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Editor's Note An investigation by the Pasadena Public Health Department, Pasadena, California, into the outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial infections from duodenoscopes found that 16 patients at Huntington Hospital were infected from January 2013 to August 2015, including 11 who have now died, the June 1 Los Angeles Times reports.…

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Editor's Note Autonomous robotic surgery performed by the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR) may help healthcare providers improve outcomes and efficiency, while reducing errors, finds this study. STAR integrates a robotic arm, suturing device, and imaging capabilities. Surgeons tested STAR against manual, laparoscopic, and robot-assisted surgery for porcine intestinal anastomoses…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced May 11 that it will release additional guidance in June regarding the expectations for text orders. The guidance will include the frequency text orders may be used, whether text orders that are directly integrated into the electronic health record are viewed differently than manually…

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Editor's Note An Independent Security Evaluators study of 12 hospitals found that all had vulnerabilites that could lead to patient deaths or harm, according to a May 9 report from WUSA 9. During the study, cybersecurity experts were able to remotely control respirators and patient monitors, trigger false alarms, and…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 9 announced the Pioneers in Quality Advisory Panel, a group of technical experts who will be informing the Joint Commission on the successes and challenges hospitals are experiencing in their adoption and use of electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs). The panel also will…

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Editor's Note In intermediate-risk patients, outcomes (ie, death from any cause or disabling stroke) of transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) were similar to conventional open aortic-valve replacement, this study finds. The study involved 2,032 patients: 1,011 were randomized to TAVR and 1,021 to open surgery. Previous studies have shown that survival rates…

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Editor's Note Nearly half of patient face-to-face contacts with health care providers, such as checkups, emergency department visits, and hospital admissions, were missing from electronic health records (EHRs) in this study. The problem is caused by the inability of software systems to talk to each other. Because of the 2009 Health…

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