SSIs fall sharply with team-based protocol changes
Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a major cause of morbidity in surgical patients, leading to increased length of stay and healthcare costs. No single intervention has demonstrated efficacy in reducing SSIs. When SSIs rose to a rate of 16.3% in 2013 at St Elizabeth Boardman Hospital in Boardman, Ohio, perioperative…
Surgical receipt raises quality standards, lowers costs
Increasing costs and shrinking margins have continued to pressure business managers and senior hospital leadership to rethink strategies for raising surgeons’ awareness of product and nonlabor costs within the OR. Often providers are asked to cut costs but are unaware of the actual costs of the products they use. In…
Huddles help hospitals move toward the goal
Like a football team gathering to confirm tactical details before a play, surgical staff often form a huddle to ensure readiness of the providers, patient, and equipment for the upcoming procedure. In a twist on the traditional huddle the day before surgery, staff at the Hospital of Central Connecticut (HOCC)…
Is pain treatment a risk or reward for ASCs?
A growing number of new devices, procedures, and drugs are becoming available to alleviate pain, especially the chronic type that lingers after incurring an injury or undergoing surgery. Pain management has become a medical specialty, and most pain relief procedures are appropriate for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Some ASCs make…
Joint Commission survey standards tighten for 2017
Beginning January 1, 2017, the Joint Commission is “making significant changes in its survey methods and its standards manual,” says John R. Rosing, MHA, FACHE, executive vice president and principal, Patton Healthcare Consulting, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and OR managers need to be prepared for them. The reason, he says, is that…
Survey: OR staff low in volume, experience, engagement--Part 3
High staff engagement contributes to the success of an organization, but OR managers are finding it tough to engage their staffs, given the multitude of changes in healthcare and stressors in the OR. In the final article of this three-part series, OR Manager examines the challenge of staff engagement, along…
Editorial
This issue of OR Manager will be published around Thanksgiving, and we hope it won’t be overlooked in the wake of holiday preparations. Important information such as the upcoming Joint Commission survey changes, for example, should not be missed (cover story). Surveys were discussed during the 2016 OR Manager Conference.…
New data show enhanced surgical patient care lessens pain, length of stay
Comprehensive surgical patient care models are associated with better outcomes, according to studies presented at Anesthesiology 2016 in October. In a study of 1,356 patients undergoing total knee, hip, or shoulder joint replacement surgery, pain management and communication between patients and physicians improved when care was based on the perioperative…
Free Daily News
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