OR Business
Effect of elective surgery cancellation on ICU capacity in New York State
Editor's Note Suspension of elective surgical procedures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York State had only a minor effect on ICU capacity, this study finds. State authorities suspended all elective surgical procedures in mid-March 2020 to increase hospital and ICU bed capacity. However, the effect of canceling…
Eight hospitals postponing elective surgery in response to COVID-19 resurgence
Editor's Note Hospitals nationwide are beginning once again to suspend elective surgical procedures in response to an increase in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the October 30 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The following eight hospitals are postponing or canceling surgical procedures to free up bed capacity, ensure staffing, or to make sure…
CMS issues coverage plan for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 28 issued an interim final rule that requires CMS to cover any COVID-19 vaccines that receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization at no cost to beneficiaries. The rule also will increase what Medicare pays hospitals for COVID-19…
Joint Commission selected to provide VA lab accreditation
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced October 27 that it had been selected to provide Laboratory Accreditation Program services for the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). These services will be provided for moderate and high-complexity clinical laboratories at VA Medical Centers and community-based outpatient clinics. Services include education on…
Most OR nurse leaders find jobs rewarding despite COVID-19
Results from the 2020 annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey show that despite the turbulent times, most OR leaders view their work favorably; 77% are satisfied with their jobs, with nearly a third describing themselves as “completely satisfied.” This might seem surprising in light of COVID-19, but many nurse leaders are…
Editorial
Surveys this past year seem to have proliferated, many of them related to the COVID-19 pandemic. What has worked? What hasn’t? What are the next steps? Resuming surgical procedures after the springtime hiatus has helped regain some lost ground. Even as cases of the virus surged in many parts of…
Think 'outside the blocks' to shore up balance sheets
Editor’s Note: This article from Whitman Partners addresses some ways OR nurse leaders can help their health systems recover from the financial fallout and disruption in normal processes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whitman Partners is a Portland, Oregon-based specialty search firm dedicated to placing directors of surgical services at…
Consider a PSH as a post-pandemic strategy
Across the US, surgical services are estimated to comprise around 20% of national health spending and typically generate up to 70% of total health system revenue.1, 2 That makes surgical services the largest revenue generator for a hospital, supporting access to numerous other healthcare services. Considering the average hospital has…
Incentive payments push staff to reach productivity goals
Any process improvement project is far more likely to succeed with backing from leadership. The familiar phrase, “the buck stops here,” reflects a mindset that applies to OR managers who take ownership of what happens to their patients and their staffs every day. But what if they could say, “the…
Survey: COVID-19 is a worry, but compensation remains stable
The COVID-19 pandemic is top of mind for ambulatory surgery center (ASC) leaders, finds the OR Manager 2020 Salary/Career Survey. Most of the 69 ASC leaders who completed the survey responded to an open-ended question about how the pandemic had affected their facility and staff, with the most frequent comments…
Free Daily News
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