Uncategorized Editor's Note Despite concerns that quality improvement efforts may widen disparities, national racial disparities in surgical mortality are narrowing, this study finds. Using Medicare claims data from 2005 to 2014, Harvard researchers found that, overall, national mortality trends improved for both black and white patients by 0.10% and 0.07% per…
Editor's Note A bipartisan group of 24 US Representatives sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, MD, on May 26 asking him to use his statutory authority to move ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) from the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) to…
Editor's Note Quality improvement (QI) measures can be effective in reducing readmissions, relative to the status quo, but cost savings vary, this meta-analysis finds. In this review of 50 QI studies, interventions reduced readmissions by an average of 12.1% for heart failure patients and 6.3% among the general population. However,…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 30 identified the recall by Zimmer Biomet (Warsaw, Indiana) of its SpF PLUS-Mini and SpF XL IIB implantable spinal fusion stimulators as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of higher than allowed levels of potential harmful…
Editor's Note The ECRI Institute (Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania) on May 25 issued a free public resource to protect hospitals from ransomware attacks. The new guidance, “Ransomware Attacks: How to Protect Your Medical Device Systems,” provides recommendations for adapting general cybersecurity principles to the requirements of medical devices, including a list…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 24 issued a new Quick Safety update on improperly sterilized or high-level disinfected (HLD) equipment, which continues to be a frequently scored noncompliant standard (IC 02.02.01). The update includes expanded safety actions to help leaders oversee sterilization and HLD processes and ensure that…
Editor's Note In this study, major teaching hospital status was associated with lower mortality rates for common medical and surgical conditions, compared with nonteaching hospitals. The analysis of 21.4 million hospitalizations of Medicare patients at 4,483 hospitals (250 major teaching, 894 minor teaching, and 3,339 nonteaching) found that 30-day mortality…
Editor's Note A new Kronos survey finds that 93% of nurses are satisfied with their career choice, but fatigue is a substantial issue, the May 8 Business Wire reports. In the survey titled, “Employee Engagement in Nursing,” 98% say their work is both physically and mentally demanding. More than 40%…
Editor's Note The Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality and Access Act of 2017 (HR 1838/S 1001) has added new cosponsors in the US House of Representatives and was introduced in the Senate, the May 23 Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) News Digest reports. Many of the cosponsors signed on as a…
Editor's Note Early postoperative discharge after major inpatient surgery was associated with lower total surgical episode payments in this study. In this analysis of 639,943 Medicare beneficiaries undergoing colectomy, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), or total hip replacement, payments were significantly lower in hospitals with lowest vs highest length of…
