Uncategorized Editor's Note In this meta-analysis, organ recipients who had cancer before receiving an organ transplant had higher rates of mortality and new cancers than organ recipients who had not had cancer. Organ recipients with previous cancers had a 1.5 times greater risk of dying from any cause, 3 times higher…
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on April 18 issued its hospital inpatient prospective payment system (PPS) proposed rule for FY 2017. The proposed rule includes: an increase in rates by 0.85% from FY 2016, after accounting for inflation and other adjustments required by law adjustments to…
Editor's Note Nearly half of patient face-to-face contacts with health care providers, such as checkups, emergency department visits, and hospital admissions, were missing from electronic health records (EHRs) in this study. The problem is caused by the inability of software systems to talk to each other. Because of the 2009 Health…
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 18 issued its hospital inpatient prospective payment system (PPS) proposed rule for FY 2017 that includes two adjustments to reverse the effects of the 0.2% cut it instituted when implementing the two-midnight rule, AHA News Now reports. Included…
Editor's Note A new congressional investigation shows that the number of infections from contaminated duodenoscopes is much higher than previously estimated, the April 15 Los Angeles Times reports. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told investigators that from 300 to 350 patients at 41 facilities in the US and abroad…
Editor's Note After six consecutive night shifts, anesthesia residents experienced significantly impaired control of all driving variables including speed, lane position, throttle, and steering in a driving simulator. They also were more likely to be involved in collisions. In addition, reaction times increased with a significant increase in the number of minor…
Editor's Note Nurses are becoming innovators at the MakerHealth Space at the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston---a workspace where they can brainstorm ideas for healthcare innovations that will improve patient care, and they can build prototypes of their ideas. MakerHealth Space began as an expedition site for a concept from…
Editor's Note Weight loss and obesity-related comorbidity outcomes at 1 year after surgery are unrelated to surgeon skill, this study finds. Comparing patients who were operated on by surgeons in the top 25% for surgical skill scores and surgeons in the bottom 25%, there were no major differences in the…
Editor's Note Most Americans do not think healthcare prices and quality are associated and may avoid low-price care, finds this study. Depending on how the question was framed, 58% to 71% of Americans in a nationally representative survey did not associate healthcare prices and quality. A minority did perceive an…
Editor's Note How well a hospital performs financially is not associated with improved clinical outcomes, this study finds. Researchers examined the association between financial performance for nearly 280 hospitals against their 30-day mortality and readmission rates for acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia. The findings suggest that hospitals…
