Anesthesiologists
Healthcare employment up in November
Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in November to a seasonally adjusted 16,623,800 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on December 2. That’s up 44,700 since October. Hospital employment also was up by 11,000 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for November was 3.7%, for a…
A success story: Coordination, teamwork, and collaboration in aerodigestive procedures
The Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago has a mission: to successfully serve children with complex airway disorders requiring pulmonary, upper digestive tract, sleep, voice, and swallowing evaluations. As a 360-bed facility ranked among the country’s top children’s hospitals by US News & World Report and housing more than 1,800…
Operationalizing a robotics program for evenings, weekends
The St Elizabeth Healthcare organization in northern Kentucky has eight facilities, including two surgery centers. The flagship hospital on the Edgewood campus has 534 beds and 22 ORs and typically performs some 14,000 surgical procedures per year. Robots help manage the volume. The Edgewood, Florence, and Ft Thomas hospitals have…
Challenges and best practices with strategizing flip rooms
Consider the following requests posed to OR scheduling staff by surgeons: • “I need two blocks in different rooms to accommodate my daily case volume.” • “Can’t I just use that empty room to start my next case while the first case is wrapping up?” Surgeon requests like these are…
Negotiating contracts with anesthesia: Set clear expectations and hire who you know
David Shapiro, MD, who is a risk manager/medical director at several ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) near Tallahassee, Florida, has seen his fair share of contracts with anesthesia services. Navigating these types of contracts at a time when anesthesiology is suffering from a workforce shortage and high costs for services is…
Partial COVID-19 vaccination tied to decreased postop mortality, infection
Editor's Note This study from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, finds that full and partial COVID-19 vaccination reduced postoperative complications. Researchers analyzed data from patients having surgery at 1,283 VA medical facilities nationwide. Of 87,073 surgical patients, 20% were fully vaccinated, 15% were partially vaccinated, and 65% were unvaccinated. Among…
FDA: Class I recall of Teleflex Iso-Gard Filter S
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 1 identified the recall of Teleflex’s Iso-Gard Filter S as Class I, the most serious. Iso-Gard filters are breathing circuit bacterial filters that are connected to respiratory equipment or breathing systems in operating rooms and ICUs. The recall was initiated…
Wildfire smoke linked to adverse events in pediatric patients under anesthesia
Editor's Note This study from the University of California San Francisco finds that pediatric patients with risk factors for respiratory complications had a greater incidence of adverse events under general anesthesia during periods of unhealthy air quality caused by wildfire smoke. A total of 625 pediatric patients were included in…
FDA issues Safety Communication on tracheostomy tube shortages
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 31 issued a Medical Device Safety Communication on tracheostomy tube shortages. Included in the shortages are Bivona tracheostomy tubes manufactured by ICU Medical, which are more likely to affect pediatric patients. Also on the shortage list are JOH Tube Tracheostomy…
FDA: Five companies are having amoxicillin shortages
Editor's Note As of November 1, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) listed 26 amoxicillin products on its current drug shortages site. The FDA says increased demand is the largest cause of the shortage. The FDA does not list resupply dates, but the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) estimates…
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