Articles Tagged With:
-
Changes to quality reporting program announced
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized proposed quality measure OP-32 and ASC-12 Facility Seven-Day Risk-Standardized Hospital Visit Rate after Outpatient Colonoscopy, despite objections from the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) and others. -
Program focuses on safety around energy devices
The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) has launched the Fundamental Use of Surgical Energy (FUSE) program to educate surgeons and staff about the safe use of surgical energy-based devices in the OR, endoscopy suite, and other areas. -
Two-thirds of low-income Latino children given inadequate pain control post-surgery at home
More than two-thirds of children from low-income Latino families dont receive adequate pain control when they go home after surgery, according to a study presented at the Anesthesiology 2014 annual meeting. -
Is your staff prepared if a patient with Ebola walks in the front door? Eye surgeon’s office shares experience with potential exposure
An ophthalmology practice in Alabama, located next to a surgery center, had a patient who showed up sick with Ebola-type symptoms. The patient shared that her son, who lived with her, had returned from Nigeria in the past few days. -
Changes to Medicare pay, quality measures finalized for hospitals and ASCs in 2015
In the Calendar Year 2015 Medicare final payment rule, hospital outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) payments are estimated to increase by 2.2%, and the adjusted update factor for ambulatory surgery centers is 1.4%. -
Confirmation bias threatens patient safety, but experts say it can be overcome
The phenomenon of confirmation bias can threaten patient safety if not addressed with policies and procedures. Cognitive bias was a central issue in a recent malpractice case. -
Surgeon looks at label, ‘sees’ what he expects
Caroline Carcerano underwent spinal surgery at Tufts Medical Center in Boston in hopes that the procedure would resolve pain from a back injury. During the surgical procedure, her neurosurgeon requested a special dye to test the location of tubing threaded into her spine. -
Lawsuit says protective medical gowns failed safety tests, don’t protect against Ebola
A class action lawsuit was filed in October alleging that Kimberly-Clark Corp. has committed fraud in the marketing and selling of certain protective medical gowns. -
Emergency Medicine Reports - Full November 16, 2014 Issue in PDF
-
Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Emergency Physician’s Perspective
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic polyarticular form of inflammatory arthritis of unclear etiology. It primarily involves the synovial joints and is commonly symmetric. Joint pain and swelling are most commonly seen in patients with this condition. The presence of autoantibodies such as rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs), which the anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) falls under, are found in the majority of patients. Left untreated, there is a high risk of significant deformity and disability.