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Reporting on how deferred care worsened outcomes for lung cancer patients when the COVID-19 pandemic first surged in the spring of 2020, researchers from the University of Cincinnati explained that they have identified a framework that could help people with serious health conditions keep up their appointments during the current surge. The study has been selected for the 2020 Southern Surgical Association Program and published as an “article in press” on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print.

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Financial toxicity among breast cancer patients is independently associated with worse psychological well-being following a mastectomy or lumpectomy operation. However, even small improvements in financial pressure associated with treatment-related costs can lead to better mental well-being and higher patient satisfaction with breast reconstruction.

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The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will harm patients and further destabilize a health care system already under severe strain from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Centralized coordinated governmental action is critical during the resurgence of COVID-19, according to three national health care organizations.

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Four major health care organizations have released an updated collaborative document on maintaining essential surgery during the ongoing pandemic.

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The Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion for low-income people appears to lead to earlier diagnosis of colon cancer, enhanced access to care, and improved surgical care for patients with this common cancer.

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The American College of Surgeons has recently released updated recommendations concerning access to surgery amid the current COVID-19 resurgence.

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The social isolation brought on by stay-at-home orders (SAHO) issued in the early phase of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have a deadly and dangerous side effect: an increase in intentional penetrating injuries, especially firearm violence.

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ACS NSQIP has recognized 89 of an eligible 607 hospitals for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2019.

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CHICAGO (October 30, 2020): Today cardiothoracic surgeon Timothy W. Mullett, MD, FACS, Lexington, Ky., has begun a two-year term as chair of the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Dr. Mullett has been serving as the Chair-elect of the CoC for the past year.

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Representatives Ami Bera, MD (CA-7) and Larry Bucshon, MD (IN-8), along with six lead co-sponsors, introduced legislation today that will protect patients’ access to surgical care by stopping cuts to Medicare payments for surgical specialties.

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CHICAGO (October 30, 2020): Colon cancer patients achieve better five-year survival rates when the surgeons who treat them are rated as highly skilled, according to findings from what authors say is the first study to link a surgeon’s technical skills with improved long-term clinical outcomes. The study is published online in JAMA Oncology and virtually presented as part of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer’s Annual Research Paper Competition.

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A nonsurgical treatment option for rectal cancer that preserves quality of life is safe for carefully selected patients, according to a new study comparing it with the standard operation. The study results appear online as an "article in press" on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print publication and were presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting.

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L. Scott Levin, MD, FACS, was elected Chair, and Steven D. Wexner, MD, FACS, was elected Vice-Chair, of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons during the College’s virtual Clinical Congress 2020.

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Julie A. Freischlag, MD, FACS, FRCSEd (Hon), DFSVS, an esteemed vascular surgeon from Winston-Salem, N.C., has been elected to serve as the 2020–2021 President-Elect of the American College of Surgeons.

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Today three surgeons received the 2020 American College of Surgeons (ACS)/Pfizer Surgical Volunteerism Awards in recognition of their selfless efforts as volunteer surgeons who provide care to medically underserved patients.

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As firearm deaths continue to increase in the United States, the American College of Surgeons Improving Social Determinants to Attenuate Violence (ISAVE) task force outlined steps the medical community must take to understand and address the root causes of firearm violence.

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At panel discussions during the virtual ACS Clinical Congress 2020, experts underscored the importance of helping patients stop tobacco, vaping and marijuana use before having an operation.

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The American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2020 (Oct. 3-7) is a virtual-only event. Here’s the listing of next week’s activities for media attendees.

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Seven of 10 adults with appendicitis can safely avoid surgical removal of their appendix (appendectomy) for at least several months by receiving a course of antibiotics.