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For years, scientists have been talking about how digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), a technique that enables radiologists to view three-dimensional images of the breast, is going to revolutionize breast screening. The development and approval process has taken much longer than anyone anticipated, but that hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of leading researchers, many of whom now believe that approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for at least one DBT system will come within the next year.
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Increased emphasis on patients at risk for postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), enhanced information on anesthesia for pediatric patients, and focus on post-discharge PONV are three significant changes in the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia Guidelines for the Management of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting.
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The Massachusetts Hospital Association recently announced that all Massachusetts hospitals are adopting a uniform policy to not charge patients or insurers for certain serious adverse events, including wrong-site surgeries, as defined by the National Quality Forum (NQF). In doing so, Massachusetts becomes only the second state in the nation to take this voluntary action.
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Patients with limited arthritis in their knees typically had to live with pain and discomfort or wait until deterioration reached a point at which they could undergo a total knee replacement, but new technology gives patients a third option that allows them to return to normal activity without pain earlier in their lives.
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Although mastectomies have been performed in outpatient surgery programs for several years, skepticism about the safety of outpatient mastectomies with immediate reconstruction has kept some physicians from letting patients know about the option, say experts interviewed by Same-Day Surgery.
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There are times when a freestanding surgery center is not feasible. Some of the more significant reasons include:
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The three major gastroenterology associations released a statement in 2004 that said monitored anesthesia care (MAC) is not needed for routine colonoscopy procedures.
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In April, Aetna will join several other payers, including WellPoint and Humana, that say it isn't medically necessary to have an anesthesia professional present for average-risk individuals undergoing standard upper or lower gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopic procedures.
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Doctors appear to disclose actual medical errors to their hospitals at a lower rate than their views on disclosure would indicate, according to a University of Iowa researcher.
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Some of the language of ethics doesn't come naturally to nurses, according to a nurse-ethicist. But an initiative by Indianapolis-based Clarian Health aims to make ethics training and discussion second nature to the 5,000 nurses working there.
