Safety The American Hospital Association (AHA) has sent a letter to the Office of the United States Trade Representative to ask that medications, medical devices and other healthcare equipment and supplies such as personal protective equipment (PPE) be exempted from proposed duties on goods from other nations. In the letter, signed by…
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago announced that is has achieved “more than a 13-fold improvement in surgical safety” after implementing a series of interventions based on high reliability principles across its ORs. The hospital said it has been experiencing a serious safety event approximately every 2,977…
A new international study published in JMIR Perioperative Medicine calls for more rigorous monitoring of patients for the risk of postoperative complications after orthopedic surgeries, particularly myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery (MINS), major bleeding, and sepsis. “Association Between Complications and Death Within 30 Days After Orthopedic Surgery: Vascular Events in…
Leaders of the “Five Eyes” cybersecurity agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States have united to issue a “call to action” that “the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming cyber risk, and we must act swiftly to remain ahead.” The agencies…
The American Heart Association has issued a scientific statement in its journal Circulation on the topic of perioperative anemia and patient blood management in cardiac surgery. Calling perioperative anemia and red blood cell transfusions important risk factors for morbidity and mortality in cardiac surgery, it notes that up to 50%…
Artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare can be incredibly powerful…until it isn’t. KFF Health News has published a reminder that while AI can unlock significant clinical, financial and operational efficiencies and even breakthroughs, the technology is still in its relative infancy in terms of implementation in live environments. As such, human…
A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine finds that intraoperative tranexamic acid reduced red-cell transfusions across major noncardiac surgeries without increasing the risk of dangerous blood clots. The study was sponsored and coordinated by the University of Manitoba (UM) and co-led by researchers at UM and…
When it’s not clear who’s taking a patient home after their procedure at an ASC, the resulting ambiguity and uncertainty can cause a discharge delay or even a same-day cancelation of their procedure before it even begins. Two safety and risk management experts from patient safety organization ECRI—Anna Thomas, MSN,…
“Please come to the OR. We have moisture in our tray.” My hope is that you never hear these words. But if you do, leadership must act quickly to protect patient safety. Understanding the risk Sterilization is designed to remove harmful microorganisms, but sterility depends on keeping items dry after…
The Health Sector Coordinating Council (HSCC) Cybersecurity Working Group, “a platform for collaboration among healthcare industry leaders and the government for more than a decade to address the most pressing security and resiliency challenges to the healthcare sector,” has published its Health Industry AI Cybersecurity Governance Framework Implementation Guide. HSCC…
