Periop Pulse Anxious surgical patients often request to listen their favorite music in the perioperative suite, especially before anesthesia induction and during transport. According to a new study written by Michael Egbujionuma, RN, APRN, of Kaiser Permanente, the fulfillment of these requests can go beyond simple in-the-moment “patient comfort” to “represent an…
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has issued an alert about four vulnerabilities in Microsoft SharePoint, the widely-used cloud-based collaboration and document management platform included with Microsoft 365, that are being exploited by cyber threat actors to “establish remote code execution and perform other actions to deploy malware,” according…
A new retrospective cohort study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons finds that “older adults who undergo high-risk emergency general surgery (EGS) spend significantly fewer days living independently at home after surgery than those undergoing lower-risk procedures,” states ACS. The researchers note that EGS in older adults…
Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) announced that eight of its hospitals are now unified under a single hospital license. The health system stated that this administrative change will help it operate as a more connected health system, with providers able to share information more easily, coordinate care more quickly…
The United States Attorney’s Offices for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia announced that West Virginia University Health System (WVUHS) agreed to pay $4,177,139 and enter a three-year Memorandum of Agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to resolve civil allegations after the agency’s investigation found that the…
The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has “applauded” the introduction of the bipartisan Patients First Act of 2026, which it calls a “comprehensive” Medicare physician payment reform proposal that would “help stabilize Medicare physician practices, strengthen quality measurement, and support safer, more reliable care for Medicare beneficiaries.” “This legislation represents…
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and The Leapfrog Group have jointly announced a new Recognized Leader in Geriatric Surgery designation to be awarded to “hospitals that provide high-quality surgical care for older adults.” Hospitals will be eligible for the designation beginning in 2027. The organizations stated that the designation…
With cyclosporiasis cases on the rise, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated this week that it has “received reports of 1,645 confirmed domestic cases of cyclosporiasis and is aware of more than 5,100 cases that require further analysis to confirm the illness as domestically acquired cyclosporiasis.” The…
A recent retrospective cohort study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons finds that postoperative opioid prescribing for pediatric surgery patients “remains a modifiable source of harm” while noting that “procedure-specific national prescribing patterns, inter-hospital variability, and high-yield stewardship targets are not well defined.” Using 2023 data…
Just days after announcing that Vermont had become the 26th U.S. state to opt out of physician supervision of certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) has announced that Ohio has become the 27th state to do so. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine informed CMS of the…
