Editor's Note The Joint Commission on August 12 released its sentinel event statistics for the first half of 2020. From January 1 through June 30, the Joint Commission reviewed 437 sentinel events. The most frequently reported events were in the following categories: Care management, 165 Surgical or invasive procedures, 131…
Editor's Note The Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) have both retracted COVID-19 treatment studies because of concerns about the validity of the data and how the research was conducted by Chicago-based Surgisphere Corp, the June 4 Medscape Medical News reports. Authors of the Lancet study, which was…
Editor's Note In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial of remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19, remdesivir was not associated with statistically significant clinical benefits. For the analysis, 237 patients were randomly assigned to either a treatment group with remdesivir (158 patients) or placebo (79 patients). Remdesivir use was not…
Editor's Note Royal Philips has issued an urgent field safety notice for its CombiDiagnost R90 GCF fluoroscopy system, the January 10 MassDevice reports. When the tilting feature is used, the device could be locked in a “Table Up/Down” state, an issue that could result in the entry of contrast agent…
Editor's Note In this study, researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital, designed, implemented, and assessed the effect of the first surgery-specific peer support program in the US. The program uses five steps: creation of a conceptual framework choice of peer supporters training of peer supporters multifaceted identification of major adverse…
Projections for healthcare industry trends in 2020 started to proliferate near the end of 2019 as attention turned to the new year. Reflecting on the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) landmark 1999 report, “To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System,” some healthcare leaders said the report has raised awareness…
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration on November 7 identified the recall by Zimmer Biomet of its ROSA Brain 3.0 Robotic Surgery System as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a software issue that incorrectly positions the robotic arm. The company has received five…
Editor's Note Delaying a cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis more than 3 days after admission increased the rate of complications, hospital readmissions, and lengthened hospital stays, in this study presented October 30 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2019 in San Francisco. Using 2012 to 2016 ACS National Surgical…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on October 23 that laminated posters and badge buddies on the 2020 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) for hospitals are now available for purchase. Areas covered by the NPSGs include: Patient identification Infection prevention Patient safety risks Safe surgery. The posters and badge buddies…
Editor's Note New research from the ECRI Institute finds that diagnostic tests and medication events are the most frequent safety risks patients face in ambulatory care. ECRI Institute’s “Deep Dive: Safe Ambulatory Care, Strategies for Patient Safety & Risk Reduction” identifies solutions for five types of safety challenges in ambulatory…