Anesthesia
Preanesthesia testing area well positioned to prepare patients for surgery
Is your preanesthesia testing area providing measurable value, and is it positioned to drive surgery toward a new paradigm of care? As government payers shift toward value-based care with the required bundled payment for total joints starting in 800 hospitals and 75 markets (as part of the Comprehensive Care for…
Effect of anesthesia care transitions on postop complications
Editor's Note The number of additional attending anesthesiologists and in-room providers (ie, anesthesia residents, nurse anesthetists) involved in a surgical procedure was independently associated with an increased odds of postoperative complications in this study. Though a surgical patient may receive anesthesia care from several anesthesia providers, the safety of anesthesia…
FDA: Class I recall of Perseus A500 Anesthesia Workstation
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration, on December 23, 2015, classified the recall of the Perseus A500 Anesthesia Workstation by Draeger as Class I, the most serious. Draeger Medical (Telford, Pennsylvania) recalled the workstation because a faulty power switch may fail, causing the workstation to alarm and shut down…
Management of anesthesia neurotoxicity in children lacks consistency
Editor's Note Pediatric anesthesia programs in the US do not have a consistent approach in managing anesthesia-related neurotoxicity in children, this study finds. A survey of 22 questions sent to members of the Pediatric Anesthesia Leadership Council and Pediatric Anesthesia Directors Association found that a significant need exists for improvements…
Efficacy of supplemental alarm for critically low intraoperative blood pressure
Editor's Note In this study, a supplemental alert for severe intraoperative hypotension did not reduce the duration of hypotension or hospitalization. Because intraoperative hypotension is associated with complications that might be ameliorated by earlier intervention, researchers randomized 1,598 patients to hypotension alerts and 1,567 to no alerts. The median time…
Study: Relationship between anesthesia providers and socioeconomic factors
Editor's Note Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are the main anesthesia providers ensuring patient access to anesthesia care in lower-income areas where patients are more likely to be uninsured, unemployed, and/or Medicaid eligible, this study finds. Anesthesiologists are more closely aligned with counties that have higher income populations. Lessening restrictions…
ASA releases new checklist for mass casualty situations
Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists on December 7 released a new resource for hospitals, physicians, and OR personnel—the Operating Room Mass Casualty Management checklist. The tool helps anesthesiologists and OR personnel optimize their response and better manage the flow of patient care during mass casualty events. The checklist…
Study: Perioperative mortality 2010 to 2014
Editor's Note This analysis of data from the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry found several factors independently associated with increased perioperative mortality (within 48 hours of anesthesia induction): Increasing American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Emergency case status Cases beginning between 4:00 pm and 6:59 am Patient age less than…
Editorial
Earlier this year, we published two articles about the emerging perioperative surgical home (PSH) model of care, and the topic was included in a panel session on innovative programs at this year’s OR Manager Conference. The basic concept of the PSH is to provide integrated patient-centered care from the time…
Build a strong anesthesia quality program to boost patient safety and the bottom line
Quality indicators for anesthesia For the past several years, physicians have participated in the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) established by Medicare as a way to assess the quality of patient care and tie that to reimbursement. Beginning in 2015, a negative payment adjustment hit individuals and group practices whose…
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