If you work in a hospital these days, you’ve probably gotten the invitation: Take a survey about how well you, your team and your hospital do at protecting patients from harm, and how empowered you feel to do the right thing. It’s all in the name of gauging “patient safety culture.” But a new study […]
Read MorePeople who undergo certain common surgeries are more likely to use opioids chronically, even if they do not receive the analgesics for postoperative pain, according to a new study. Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine, in California, looked for an association between common surgical procedures and the risk for chronic use of opioids. They […]
Read MoreHaving additional OR personnel during the intraoperative period is not associated with an increased risk for surgical site infections (SSIs), according to a recent retrospective case control trial. Surgical site infections are a significant source of patient morbidity and medical costs; prior studies have suggested that intraoperative traffic and the number of OR personnel might […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: August 2016 – Volume 123 – Issue 2 – p 493–500 AUTHORS: Grevstad, Ulrik MD, PhD et al BACKGROUND: Single-injection adductor canal block (ACB) provides analgesia after knee surgery. Which nerves that are blocked by an ACB and what influence—if any—local anesthetic volume has on the effects remain undetermined. We hypothesized that […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: August 2016 – Volume 123 – Issue 2 – p 445–451 AUTHORS: van Eijk, Ruben P. A. MD et al BACKGROUND: Variability in operating room (OR) time causes overutilization and underutilization of the available ORs. There is evidence that for a given type of procedure, the surgeon is the major source of […]
Read MoreAuthors: Andreas Ranft, M.D. et al Anesthesiology published on September 15, 2016. Background: The neural correlates of anesthetic-induced unconsciousness have yet to be fully elucidated. Sedative and anesthetic states induced by propofol have been studied extensively, consistently revealing a decrease of frontoparietal and thalamocortical connectivity. There is, however, less understanding of the effects of halogenated ethers […]
Read MoreAuthors: Pierre Bouzat, M.D., Ph.D. et al Anesthesiology 8 2016, Vol.125, 346-354. Background: To assess the performance of transcranial Doppler (TCD) in predicting neurologic worsening after mild to moderate traumatic brain injury. Methods: The authors conducted a prospective observational study across 17 sites. TCD was performed upon admission in 356 patients (Glasgow Coma Score [GCS], 9 to […]
Read MoreAndy Slavitt, CMS Acting Administrator, published a blogpost detailing different options that eligible clinicians may follow for participation in MACRA in 2017. Earlier this year, ASA submitted comments on the MACRA proposed rule arguing that CMS not sacrifice the care necessary in developing a smart and defensible payment program under MACRA for an aggressive implementation timeline. It […]
Read MoreOne-in-four medical practices is now owned by a hospital or health system, and hospitals employed 38% of all U.S. physicians in 2015. Hospitals have gone on a physician feeding frenzy, with the number of practices owned by hospitals and health systems rising 86% from 2012-15, a study from the Physicians Advocacy Institute shows. The acquisitions are occurring […]
Read MoreOnly a fraction of Medicare patients who have opioid use disorder receive opioid agonist therapy (OAT) with buprenorphine-naloxone (multiple brands), say US researchers, who found that nonspecialist physicians are the least likely to prescribe the drug. The Medicare population of 55 million patients has one of the largest and fastest growing rates of opioid use […]
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