The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finally published its Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain on March 15. However, the guidelines are voluntary and after months of pro...

In 2011, The Joint Commission ruled that physicians and practitioners were forbidden from using text messaging to send patient care orders. Now the accreditor has reversed its ruling, and effective im...

Researchers announced that, as of 2014, only 40% of all hospitals have a comprehensive antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) in place....

Experts say heightened vigilance and additional funding will be keys to preparing for the next infectious disease outbreak in the U.S. ...

CMS recently clarified policy on acceptable control materials for lab testing. While not changing any of the standards, the agency explained some of the key points to §493.1256(c) of the Clinical...

In February, an international task force ruled that systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) shouldn’t be used when diagnosing sepsis. However, the CMS sepsis managment bundle still uses a...

At the American Pain Society’s (APS) 35th Annual Scientific Meeting, researchers unveiled a new screening tool for opioid abuse risks that involves asking patients one question...

The Joint Commission has announced it will delay the repeal of the texting ban until it can create additional guidance on appropriate texting policies....

In this guest column, Heather Forbes, clinical education program coordinator for Maine Medical Partners, describes her first several months as an accreditation and regulatory coordinator. This is an e...

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) released a much anticipated update to its "Statements on Principles" addressing both concurrent and overlapping surgeries....