Measuring productivity can be a burden for perioperative leaders and their staff, but it also can serve as a means for obtaining needed resources. Part 1 of OR Manager’s two-part series on productivity measurement focused on the value of measuring, challenges, and deciding what should be assessed (see September issue,…

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OR Manager’s 2023 Salary/Career Survey included the following question to respondents: “How do you measure productivity in your department?” The answers were eye-opening and spawned a two-part series on “Maximizing productivity measurement”: Part 1 was published in September, and Part 2 (cover story) is included in this issue. The leaders…

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The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of proper disinfection to manage and contain the spread of the disease. During the pandemic, ultraviolet (UV) disinfection technology played an important role in safeguarding public health and combatting COVID-19. Various uses of UV technology have become available on the market and can be…

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The healthcare industry as a whole has faced numerous and unprecedented challenges in the last few years. With each challenge compounded by external pressures, these proverbial spotlights illuminated existing vulnerabilities. The healthcare workforce, particularly nursing, continues to be one of the most impactful vulnerabilities. With the pandemic acting as a…

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Compensation is trending slightly higher for ambulatory surgery center (ASC) leaders, according to the 2023 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey, with 68% of respondents reporting a total annual compensation of $120,000 or more, up from 50% in 2022 and 40% in 2021. However, higher wages are unlikely to sufficiently offset the…

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The OR is the financial motor of a hospital. As such, inefficiencies in this space adversely impact patient safety as well as the financial stability of the hospital and/or healthcare system. The first case on-time starts (FCOTS) metric is one of the primary benchmarks for assessing OR efficiency. The following…

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Editor's Note This cohort study, published by the British Journal of Anesthesia in September 2023, finds that surgical patients who are discharged with prescribed opioids have higher risks of hospital readmission and mortality.  The study looked at data from a territory-wide retrospective cohort of patients in Hong Kong who underwent…

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Editor's Note Researchers for a long time have expressed concern about how time and temperature might contribute to changes that affect the cleaning and sterilization of instruments. However, there have been few studies examining these claims. A September 2023 study in Biomedical Instrumentation and Technology from the Association for the…

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Editor's Note “What happens when two worlds collide?” asked one of the speakers when discussing the combination of the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) and the inpatient unit at Cohen Children’s Medical Center. The speakers were Cohen Children's Sharon Goodman, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, CPNP, director, pediatric service line; Kristen Martin, MSN,…

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Editor's Note What is a hard stop? “Think about it,” Amy Bethel, MPA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, education coordinator for the OR Business Management Conference, urged this year’s OR Manager Conference attendees. “You all know what a hard stop is, and I know all of you have had hard stops. But…

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