Editor's Note Ambulatory surgery center (ASC) administrators and managers have ample opportunity to prepare for evolving patient care models during the 2019 OR Manager Conference. On Tuesday, September 17, Beverly Kirchner, BSN, RN, CNOR, CASC, chief compliance officer for SurgeryDirect, LLC, leads a preconference workshop, “Volume versus Value: ASCs Transition…
Editor's Note The PACU Manager Summit, now in its third year, is a 3-day program held in conjunction with the OR Manager Conference. The program takes a comprehensive look at postoperative recovery, starting with a workshop on Wednesday, September 18, when clinicians from Vanderbilt University Medical Center will share their…
Editor's Note Overlapping, nonconcurrent surgery was not associated with an increase in serious unanticipated events in this study. Of 61,525 surgical procedures performed over 1 year at a large academic medical center, a total of 8,391 patients had any overlap (beginning or end) and were matched on 11 variables. Compared…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 11 announced that it had posted a new version of the Comprehensive Cardiac Center (CCC) Certification program’s standardized measures implementation guide on its website with updated measure specifications. Beginning January 1, 2020, data collection on five new inpatient performance measures will be mandatory…
Editor's Note Current rehabilitation practices may not be sufficient for hip fracture recovery in older adults, this study finds. A total of 210 patients from three US academic centers were randomized to a training intervention group (105 patients), which included aerobic, strength, balance, and functional training, or an active control…
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration on September 10 posted the recall by the Metrix Company of Dubuque, Iowa, of specific lots of its empty IV flexible containers (bags) marketed under the Metrix Secure EVA Dual Chamber and Baxter ExactaMix names. The recall was initiated because of the potential…
Editor's Note This study found a very large variability in the use of postoperative opioids in different countries. The study sample included 129,379 opioid-naïve patients in the US, 84,653 in Canada, and 9,802 in Sweden. More than 70% of surgical patients in the US (76.2%) and Canada (78.6%) filled opioid prescriptions…
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration on September 6 posted Hospira, Inc’s recall of one lot of Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP, 30 mL, multi-dose vials, lot W20308. The recall was initiated because of the potential for a lack of sterility assurance. To date, Hospira has not received any…
Editor's Note In this study, a significant association was found between exposure to World Trade Center dust and long-term cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in firefighters. Of 9,796 firefighters analyzed, those who arrived first at the World Trade Center when dust was the thickest were found to have a 44% increased…
Editor's Note Employment in US hospitals was up 8,800 jobs in August to a seasonally adjusted 5,253,200, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on September 6. That’s up 97,400 more employees than a year ago. Overall, healthcare employment has increased 392,100 in the past year. The overall unemployment rate remains…
