A lack of personal protective equipment, including N95 respirators, was one of the major reasons why hospitals nationwide closed their operating rooms to elective surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new study suggests a solution that involves disinfecting N95s so they can be safely reused.

Indiana University Health is reducing hospital stays by providing patients with a bag of items before surgery that help them “tune up” their health and position them better to ward off hospital-acquired infections.

Payers are refusing to pay claims for gastric bypass, joint replacement, and even cataract extraction. Why? Because documentation in the record does not support the need for surgery.

Cannabis use is ubiquitous across the nation as states continue to legalize marijuana, both for medicinal and personal uses. Surgery patients who ingest the drug are at a higher risk of complications, which is why surgery center directors and physicians should understand legal, medical, and other implications of cannabis use.