Adverse patient safety events in the U.S. and western Europe will drive an estimated healthcare cost burden of $383.7 billion by 2022, Frost & Sullivan finds.  By Shayna Korol - 2/26/18

A study, published in Family Medicine, examined how EHRs impact ambulatory primary care settings.  By Eric Oliver - 2/26/18

The FDA finalized a rule that over-the-counter healthcare antiseptic products containing triclosan and 23 other active ingredients may not be marketed without undergoing pre-market review. A rule first proposed in 2015 found that these active ingredients are not generally recognized as safe and effective.  By Shayna Korol - 2/22/18

The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare and professional services firm Huron will host workshops on high reliability strategies. Here are six insights:  By Angie Stewart - 2/22/18

ODH, a health technology company providing data aggregation and analytics solutions, teamed up with Hashed Health to develop and implement blockchain technologies. Here are four key points.  By Angie Stewart - 2/21/18

Norovirus is going around the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, and officials are warning athletes to fist-bump each other instead of shaking hands in order to prevent further spread, according to Yahoo Sports.  By Shayna Korol - 2/20/18

The American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities and Nebula Data Intel are aiming to transform the ASC industry through a new data initiative that will collect clinical and operational data to provide outpatient surgical centers an all-encompassing look at their center's performance compared to other centers through a preference card.  By Eric Oliver - 2/20/18

The flu has come to Maine, and the emergency department at the Maine Medical Center in Portland is using outpatient surgery beds to handle the inpatient overload, the Bangor Daily News reports.  By Shayna Korol - 2/13/18

In our ongoing series, Becker's ASC Review spoke with American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities’ Director of Accreditation Jeanne Henry about the organization's commonly cited deficiency related to emergency preparedness.  By Eric Oliver - 2/12/18

America's Health Insurance Plans released the first nationwide benchmark data measuring the healthcare industry's progress in combating the opioid crisis. AHIP published the analysis as part of its Safe, Transparent Opioid Prescribing Initiative.  By Shayna Korol - 2/9/18

A dispute between Abingdon, Md.-based Box Hill Surgery Center and a deceased patient's estate is the last in a docket of more than 700 cases related to a deadly meningitis outbreak, Law360 reports. Here are five insights:  By Angie Stewart - 2/6/18

Most of the $2.4 million raised by committees supporting and opposing questions on the November 2018 Massachusetts ballot has come from labor unions, with the Massachusetts Nurses Association leading the pack. The nursing union supports a proposal calling for strict nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals, SouthCoastToday.com reports.  By Shayna Korol - 2/5/18

Significantly more nurses than physicians have been harassed by a patient, according to a Medscape poll.  By Shayna Korol - 2/5/18

The DEA now allows nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe and dispense FDA-approved opioid addiction medications for opioid use disorders, Medscape reports.  By Shayna Korol - 2/2/18

Unnecessary medical care is widespread and drives up the cost of care. Just a handful of healthcare services account for millions of dollars of waste in Washington state, according to a report by the Washington Health Alliance.  By Shayna Korol - 2/1/18

Nearly 80 percent of millennial nurses and 57 percent of Generation X nurses plan to pursue higher education to boost their salaries and advance their careers, according to a 2017 Nurse.com audience survey. Tuition reimbursement can be a major job perk for nurses.  By Shayna Korol - 1/31/18

The Board of Ambulatory Surgery Certification recently launched its new ASC credential, Certified Ambulatory Infection Preventionist™ (CAIP™). Here are seven things to know about CAIP.  By Staff - 1/31/18

Job burnout reduces hand washing compliance among nurses, according to a study in the Journal of Patient Safety.  By Shayna Korol - 1/30/18

Patient, provider and practice characteristics are associated with inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions in ambulatory practices, according to a study in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.  By Shayna Korol - 1/30/18

Antibiotic prophylaxis with a single preoperative dose of intravenous cefazolin does not reduce the risk of surgical site infection after the removal of orthopedic implants used to treat fractures below the knee, a study in JAMA found.  By Shayna Korol - 1/30/18