Last week, CMS released data on its new hospital star ratings system, previewing the scores of 4,599 hospitals. The agency says it will be posting those ratings on its Hospital Compare site “shortly.”
On July 13, CMS and the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] sent a letter to Congress asking that all medical devices be given a unique ID number and that number be included in billing data and claims forms.
Between 1997 and 2011, the number of deaths in emergency departments (ED) has been cut nearly in half, down from 1.48 deaths per thousand to 0.77 per thousand.
Scientists in Europe have discovered a new colistin-resistant gene, mcr-2, in the intestines of Belgian pigs. Colistin is a last-resort antibiotic that is only used when an infection proves resistant to all other forms of antibiotics.
Earlier this month, the Critical Care Societies Collaborative published a report that found that 45% of critical care physicians and 25%-33% critical care nurses working in the U.S. are currently suffering from severe burnout.