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ACC CV Quality SmartBrief

The ACC CV Quality SmartBrief eNewsletter is a free, twice-weekly briefing for health care stakeholders interested in quality care. Learn more about the ACC CV Quality SmartBrief and subscribe.

  • Carbapenems may be overused in Enterobacterales cases

    Extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales infections were most commonly treated with broad-spectrum carbapenems in US hospitals, having been administered in 58.3% of patients in a study published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases. Investigators said the findings demonstrate "several opportunities to improve carbapenem stewardship, including for patients with mild disease manifestations and with pathogens for which other narrower-spectrum agents retain in-vitro activity." MedPage Today (free registration) (4/29) Learn More

  • Hospital-onset AMR infections remain high

    An analysis of data from 120 US hospitals found that the number of hospital-onset antimicrobial-resistant infections rose 32% during the pandemic, and the infection rates remained at least 12% higher than pre-pandemic levels as of December 2022. The highest increase was observed in hospital-acquired infections resistant to the antibiotic carbapenem, which remained at least 35% above pre-pandemic levels, according to a study led by Dr. Christina Yek of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Becker's Hospital Review (4/26) Learn More

  • Federal respiratory disease reporting mandate ends May 1

    Reporting of hospital admissions, occupancy and similar information related to COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases to the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network will be optional after a federal mandate ends May 1. Axios (4/29) Learn More

  • Commentary: Track EHRs' roles in diagnostic errors

    The EHR is a standard component of clinicians' diagnostic decision-making process, but poor usability impedes the process, and a recent study found that EHRs are frequently factors in diagnostic errors. Stakeholders should take steps to systematically capture EHR contributions to diagnostic errors by adopting the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's event reporting taxonomy, analyzing EHR-related diagnostic errors and developing solutions, collecting data on how and where an EHR may have contributed to errors, and designing future EHRs to better support the diagnostic process, according to three subject matter experts. Health Affairs (4/25) Learn More

  • Patients benefit from accurate data sharing

    Data sharing allows health care professionals to quickly adjust care plans as needed rather than await documentation from other clinicians or family members, while also complying with HIPAA, and the ability to exchange patient data improves care quality, write Dr. Guillermo Diaz, chief medical information officer at the Los Angeles Department of Health Services, and Ali Modaressi, CEO of Los Angeles Network for Enhanced Services. Data exchange platforms complement EHRs, providing a more holistic view of the patient, and it is critical that more organizations adopt the technology so they can spend less time on documentation and more time with patients, they write. Healthcare IT Today (4/22) Learn More

  • Opinion: Academic hospital challenges at critical mass

    Academic medical centers are increasingly facing an existential crisis as costs and challenges increase and they are asked to do more with less, write Dr. Ravi Thadhani of Emory University and Dr. Anne Klibanski of Mass General Brigham. Teaching facilities provide nearly a third of all hospital-based charity care, labor costs and shortages are increasing and reimbursements are down, all of which means new operational solutions must be developed, Thadhani and Klibansky write. They offer several ways this can be accomplished. STAT (4/26) Learn More

  • AI may be useful in treating aortic stenosis

    It may be possible to employ ChatGPT and other large language models to help heart care teams decide on the most effective management plans for severe aortic stenosis patients, according to a study published in the journal EuroIntervention. Investigators gave a heart team information on 150 AS patients and asked them to devise management plans that could include medical therapy, transcatheter aortic valve replacement or surgical aortic valve replacement. Researchers then fed the same data to ChatGPT and found it agreed with the heart team 77% of the time. Cardiovascular Business (4/22) Learn More

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