Breaking News

Class Action: 600 Ex-employees Sue Laser Spine Institute for 2 Months of Pay and Benefits; the chain of surgery centers closed without warning - now some stunned workers are seeking restitution.

Suspect Logged Into Electronic Prescription Program as Ophthalmologist to Fraudulently Issue Opioid Scripts; In a little more than a year, woman illegally wrote 73 prescriptions and obtained more than 5K pills.

Washington State Senator Creates Social Media Firestorm with Nurses 'Playing Cards' Comment; Lawmaker has received thousands of angry calls and comments - and 667 packages of playing cards in the mail.

Marijuana Users May Need Higher Doses of Sedatives Before Endoscopy; Study participants needed significantly more fentanyl, midazolam and more propofol than non-users.

Brainlab Recalls Spine & Trauma 3D Navigation 1.0 Software Due to Display Inaccuracies; The class 1 recall applies to 60 U.S. systems.

FDA Orders Withdrawal Of Transvaginal Surgical Mesh From Market; FDA orders Boston Scientific and Coloplast to stop selling and distributing surgical mesh.

Lawsuit: When PACU Lights Dimmed, Doc Asked Wife to Hold Penlight on Her Husband's Leaking JP Drain; Woman claims the sight of the oozing incision caused her to faint and fall, fracturing her distal fibula and tearing a ligament.

Rhode Island's surgical nurses will soon be smoke-free in their ORs.

Former Chief Nursing Officer Alleges Firing Retaliation for Reporting Safety Concerns; Barbara McQuillan, BSN, RN, claims she was fired by Sparrow Carson Hospital for reporting "substandard medical care and treatment."

IV Drip Containing Formaldehyde Instead of Saline Kills Russian Woman, 28; Staff reportedly tell investigators they "did not read the name on the vial."

Study Finds Psychosis Drug Amisulpride Reduces Nausea and Vomiting. Small doses of amisulpride, a drug used to manage psychosis, may prevent PONV when given with standard anti-nausea treatment, say researchers.

Disgruntled Central Sterile Employee Shoots and Kills Longtime Nursing Supervisor at Alabama Hospital. Nancy Swift, RN, a 63-year-old nursing manager, was gunned down Wednesday night in her office just outside the the OR at University of Alabama at Birmin

Design Flaw Could Keep Bair Hugger Warming Blankets From Fully Inflating. 3M has voluntarily recalled more than 33,000 cases of underbody warming blankets.

Pentax Voluntarily Recalls ED-3490TK Video Duodenoscopes for Design and Labeling Changes. Pentax will replace the forceps elevator mechanism, O-rings and the distal end covering.

Joint Commission Has Zero Tolerance for Poor Hand Hygiene. Surveyors will cite facilities if they observe a single caregiver failing to wash her hands appropriately during direct patient contact.

Kentucky Plastic Surgeon Arrested for Allegedly Arriving at Hospital Intoxicated. The doctor has been barred from practicing at the hospital and was charged with public intoxication.

Single-OR Facilities Must Adhere to the Same Quality Standards as Lice

Lawsuit: VA Hospital Left Scalpel Inside Army Vet's Abdomen. Man, 61, sues hospital for allegedly leaving a scalpel in his abdomen following a 2013 prostatectomy.

Lawsuit: scrub nurse photographed coworker nude in OR. Nurse allegedly showed explicit photos to hospital co-workers and to patient when she returned from medical leave.

Study examines the egonomics of surgery and its adverse effects on physicians.