OR Business Performance is a new series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business.   Imagine that you were recently hired as director of perioperative services at a 450-bed hospital with 18 operating rooms. Now, 6 months into your tenure, it’s time for your…

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When Kimberley Murray, MS, RN, CNOR, administrator for the orthopedic and spine service line at St Joseph’s Hospital (SJH) in Syracuse, New York, set up a successful system for negotiating with orthopedic vendors on total hip and knee replacement surgery, she knew that spine implants would be the next mountain…

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While the nation concentrates on the consumer implications of health care reform, ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) are examining its provisions for clues to the impact it will have on their operations and revenue. One likely outcome is that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will transform their supply…

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A systemwide focus on supply chain management is helping Sutter Health, a large, Sacramento, California-based health system, to improve its financial performance by adopting best practices and taking a contemporary approach to strategic sourcing, value analysis, and logistical support. The target: Trim $200 million from expenses by 2012, and they’re…

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An agreement with orthopedic and spine surgeons to share savings has enabled a large medical center to make major strides on its implant costs. It’s also provided eye-opening opportunities to improve patient care. Under the agreement, termed gainsharing, a hospital and physicians enter into a formal contract to share savings…

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Negotiating with orthopedic vendors can be frustrating as OR leaders strive to balance competing agendas among companies, surgeons, and the hospital. Kimberley Murray, MS, RN, CNOR, administrator for the orthopedic and spine service line at St. Joseph’s Hospital (SJH) in Syracuse, New York, reduced frustration by adopting a program that…

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A Big 5 report keeps perioperative leaders at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City abreast of leading financial metrics for the 31-OR department (illustration, p 9). The report displays financial variances for the 5 surgical supply-focused expense areas: medical-surgical supplies instrumentation implants wound closure supplies drug supplies. "These…

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Is your value analysis process as strong as it could be? Value analysis is a key link in building a supply chain strong enough to stand up to today's cost management challenges. Check your process against these success factors, outlined by Thomas Skorup, MBA, FACHE, vice president of the Applied…

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Which is more expensive—a robotic handle or a shunt valve? How much does hemostatic matrix cost? Thanks to an innovative game modeled after "The Price is Right," staff at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNM), Albuquerque, know the answers: The shunt valve is more expensive than the robotic handle…

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Profile of the typical OR nurse leader The typical leader of a hospital OR in the OR Manager Salary/Career Survey: earns an average salary of $127,000 for an administrative director, $104,000 for a director, and $89,000 for a nurse manager received a raise of 3.5% holds the title of director…

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