Editor's Note A novel model by researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, uses natural language processing to predict readmission risk by incorporating physical function, cognitive status, and psychosocial support--three areas that may impact readmission but are poorly captured with structured data sources. The final model had 16 variables, a…

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Editor's Note A nurse manager’s practice environment was a significant predictor of job satisfaction and intent to leave, this study finds. Of 355 nurse managers surveyed, using the Nurse Manager Practice Environment Scale: Job satisfaction was 4.5 on a 6-point scale. Mean intent to leave was 5.0 on a scale…

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Editor's Note This study found that hospital-acquired pressure ulcers add 44% to the cost of major surgical hospital stays, but the amount varies depending on length of stay. Using data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Databases and the Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System for 2011…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on August 2 issued its final rule for the FY 2017 hospital inpatient prospective payment system (PPS), which increases rates by 0.95%. The 0.95% increase reflects the projected hospital market basket update of 2.7% for those hospitals that were meaningful users…

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Our TakeThis study found a strong association between spinal anesthesia and lower 30-day mortality along with a shorter length of stay after total hip and knee replacement. Of 10,868 patients analyzed, 8,553 had spinal anesthesia and 2,315 had general anesthesia. The 30-day mortality rate was 0.19% in the spinal anesthesia…

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Editor's Note Despite “superbug” outbreaks and alerts issued in Europe, Japanese device manufacturer Olympus Corp told US executives in early 2013 not to issue a broad warning to American hospitals about potentially deadly infections from tainted duodenoscopes, the July 24 Los Angeles Times reports. At the time, Olympus was aware…

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Editor's Note In this study, a preassembled toolkit that facilitated the aseptic collection of samples for culturing detected viable microbes on fully reprocessed endoscopes. Biopsy ports and suction/biopsy channels of 5 gastroscopes, 5 colonoscopes, and 5 bronchoscopes were aseptically sampled with the toolkit after the scopes were fully processed. Bacteria…

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Editor's Note The number of colonoscopies reported through the GI Quality Improvement Consortium (GIQuIC) registry reached 3 million cases in April, PRNewswire reports. CIQuIC is a national registry that allows endoscopists and endoscopy facilities to benchmark themselves and encourages quality improvement. Participants contribute real-time, procedure-related data to the registry, which…

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Our TakeThe American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) announced May 4 that it has been selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Joint Commission for a new project to prevent patients from acquiring healthcare associated infections during outpatient care. The 3-year project referred to as “ADOPT (Adaptation and…

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Healthcare, business, and political leaders convened at the World Healthcare Congress in Washington, DC, in April to discuss payment, regulatory reforms, new technology, and evolving models of patient care. During the Nurse Leadership Summit portion of the conference, a session on population health management was noteworthy. Panel members discussed transitional…

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