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A new Watch List from ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit that researches approaches to improving patient care, provides a roadmap to 10 technology issues that healthcare leaders should have on their radar in 2013 and beyond.
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While many women are hearing about the claimed advantages of robotic surgery for hysterectomy, thanks to widespread marketing and advertising, robotic surgery is not the best minimally invasive approach for hysterectomy, according to James T. Breeden, MD, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
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In recent discussions, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), for the first time, proposed equalization between hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) for certain procedures, according to the ASC Association.
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Technological advancements in medicine have allowed patients suffering from musculoskeletal conditions such as hip and knee pain to regain mobility and live relatively pain-free. But some high-risk surgical devices that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are not required to go through clinical trials, where a product is tested to determine its safety and effectiveness.
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Few ideas I come up with or speak about are original. Sometimes I think they are, but I might have heard them from a doc, nurse, Seinfeld show, or a conference.
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Compliance with the bloodborne pathogen standard from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an ongoing issue, and now apparent lack of compliance has resulted in a proposed $68,000 fine for a surgery center regarding claims that it failed to protect workers exposed to bloodborne pathogen hazards.
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When hospitals hire more nurses with four-year degrees, patient deaths following common surgeries decrease, according to new research by the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia, as reported in the March issue of Health Affairs. Less than half the nations nurses (45%) have baccalaureate degrees, according to the most recent data available (2008).
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While generally citing continued reductions in key health care associated infections (HAIs), a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveillance report also revealed some outliers with high infection rates.
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Entering an overly complete history and examination on a patient presenting with a minor or simple complaint is one danger with electronic medical records (EMRs), especially when time-stamping makes such a lengthy examination unlikely, warns John Davenport, MD, JD, physician risk manager of a California-based health maintenance organization.
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is adding a boxed warning to the drug label of codeine-containing products to address a known safety concern with codeine use in certain children after tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy.
