Editor's Note Postoperative telehealth for general surgery patients is both safe and effective, according to a study published on December 22 in The American Journal of Surgery. The study consisted of a retrospective review of 1,075 veterans undergoing qualifying procedures at a medical center from June 2019 to September 2021.…

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Editor's Note In this study first published by the Western Journal of Nursing Research in August 2023, virtual sitting technology was found to reduce burnout among nurses, particularly those who are already feeling drained and less committed. The study was titled, “An Experience Sampling Analysis of the Impact of Video…

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Editor's Note New research shows that physicians who used telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic spent increased time working in the electronic health record (EHR). The research findings were published in JAMA Internal Medicine on October 30. Researchers studied the weekly EHR metadata of 1,052 physicians at the University of California…

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Editor's Note Major warehouse corporation Costco has entered a partnership with virtual care company Sesame to expand its healthcare offerings to its members, Chief Healthcare Executive September 27 reports. This collaboration will reportedly allow Costco members to access Sesame's telehealth services at “affordable rates.” David Goldhill, Sesame's CEO and a…

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Editor's Note Rural populations are challenged with access to consistent specialist care, with an average of just 11% of the volume of specialists per 100,000 residents compared to urban areas, according to the National Rural Health Associations. In an effort to combat the shortage of specialists, Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in Alaska…

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Editor's Note The American Hospital Association (AHA), on August 9, announced that COVID-19 HIPAA rules for telehealth would expire at 11:59 pm. The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) implemented a HIPAA policy for telehealth during the COVID-19 public health emergency, which provided enforcement discretion…

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Editor's Note On May 4, ECRI announced that Guthrie Clinic, Sayre, Pennsylvania, is the winner of its 2023 Health Technology Excellence Award. The annual award honors an organization that implements an exceptional initiative to improve patient safety, reduce costs, and facilitate better strategic management of health technology. Guthrie Clinic won…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that federal actions taken to expand telehealth use for Medicare patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) and to facilitate provision of medications for OUD (MOUD) were associated…

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Editor’s Note Three panelists weighed in on which trends are impacting profitability in an OR Business Management Conference session titled, "Trends in the OR—What's Driving Profitability?" What is the area most affected by last year’s high inflation and supply shortages? Staffing expenses and shortages are continuing to "put pressure on…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from Harvard Medical School, Boston, finds that telehealth is a comparable alternative to in-person care of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). This cohort study analyzed data on 1,768 clinicians who treated 11,801 patients with OUD via telehealth visits during COVID-19 prepandemic (March 14,…

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