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Heart problems that cause sudden death in children often are uncovered following a tragedy. At that time, health care professionals look at other members of the family to see if there is a heredity disorder that resulted in the death.
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Medication errors associated with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps most often are caused by inadequate patient and staff education, misuse by well-intentioned family members, and improper patient selection, according to results of a recent survey by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices.
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Translating patient education materials into foreign languages is costly, so it is important to select those that would benefit the most patients. Without criteria to evaluate each piece, it is difficult to determine which ones should be translated. To take the guesswork out of the process, the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle created a set of criteria.
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If an educational piece is important for teaching English-speaking patients, then it equally is important that non-English-speaking patients receive the piece as well, says Etta Short, MS, a health educator at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle.
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New guidelines for the treatment of bacterial rhinosinusitis were published in the January supplement of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery by the Sinus and Allergy Health Partnership. The goal of the guidelines is to reduce the use of antibiotics for viral infections and to use the most appropriate antibiotic for bacterial infections.
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Braun BI, et al. Preventing central venous catheter-associated primary bloodstream infections: Characteristics of practices among hospitals participating in the evaluation of processes and indicators in infection control (EPIC) study.
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The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) will discuss reimbursement for physician-owned ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) at its March 18-19 meeting.
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Nurse practitioners in Glasgow, Scotland, will begin performing minor surgery in dermatology and plastic surgery after completing a credentialing program recently introduced by a large association of hospitals in Scotland and Glasgow Caledonian University.
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With 45 million people in the United States speaking a language other than English and another 19 million people with limited proficiency in English, it is more important than ever for same-day surgery programs to make sure that interpreters are available and qualified to translate pre-op and discharge instructions.
