Editor's Note This study found that current and former smoking by surgical patients negatively influenced outcomes following major cardiovascular and oncology procedures. Current smokers had higher odds of overall, pulmonary, wound, and septic/shock complications compared with nonsmokers. The odds of having adverse outcomes were significantly lower in former smokers, but…
Editor's Note Mammography for detection of breast cancer does not reduce the number of deaths from the disease and may lead to overdiagnosis, this study finds. Researchers analyzed data of more than 16 million women in 547 countries in 2000 and followed them for 10 years. The results showed a…
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on July 8 released its proposed rule for the physician fee schedule for CY 2016. Physicians will have a 0.5% overall increase in Medicare reimbursement under the rule, which will be finalized this fall. The rule also calls for reimbursement for…
Editor's Note Work-hour restrictions for surgical resident, revised nationally 4 years ago to protect patients against fatigue-related errors, have not had the desired effect of lowering postoperative complication rates, according to this new study. Researchers from the American College of Surgeons found no significant difference in surgical outcomes between 1…
Editor's Note New research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing shows patient and nurse outcomes in Kaiser Permanente hospitals were significantly better than other hospitals. Differences in nursing explained a significant proportion of Kaiser’s outcomes advantages. The researchers found that Kaiser hospitals have significantly better nurse work environments,…
Editor's Note A diagnostic tool developed by researchers at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, can detect the smallest traces of compounds that signal the presence of an infectious disease, such as C difficile, MRSA, hepatitis C, and other superbugs. The test has the best sensitivity ever reported for a detection system.…
Editor's Note Including a health information exchange query into emergency department patient care could significantly reduce the number of tests ordered and reduce costs, finds this study. Efficient health information exchange was associated with a 52% reduction in lab tests and a 36% reduction in radiology exams per patient ordered…
Editor's Note Though a nurse practitioner in Connecticut pleaded guilty recently to taking $83,000 in kickbacks from a drug company, the payments were not listed in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Open Payments Database. That’s because companies are not required under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act to publicly…
Editor's Note Simple changes in preadmission testing and OR scheduling, including appointing a senior nurse anesthetist to help direct OR use, resulted in improvements in OR efficiency and case volume in this study. Substantial improvement was seen in first case on-time starts (39% to 84%), as well as utilization of…
Editor's Note In less than 3 months, healthcare providers will switch from ICD-9 to ICD-10 coding for medical diagnoses and inpatient hospital procedures. To help providers get ready for the October 1 deadline, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is releasing additional guidance that will allow for flexibility in…
