Data analytics improve odds for predicting surgical case volume
Recommendations emerging from a data analytics project have helped OR leaders at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, better anticipate daily surgical case volume and share that information with their managers. Data gleaned from the project are now being used to predict staffing needs for the OR, anesthesia department,…
Post-OR career path may lead to business opportunity--Part 1
Some perioperative services leaders retire from the OR with plans to become consultants, drawing on their years of experience to help facilities and remain active in the field. Some do not envision this or any other type of post-retirement career, yet they find themselves lured into a business opportunity. Entrepreneurship…
Editorial
Certain topics in OR Manager bear repeating, and high reliability is one example. The concept, put forth by the Joint Commission in 2013 to improve quality and safety of patient care, is slowly gaining traction as more facilities embrace its principles. Last March, we reported on high reliability practices at…
Nursing work environment linked to better surgical value
Hospitals with better nursing work environments and above-average staffing levels were associated with better surgical value (ie, lower mortality with similar costs) in this study, especially for higher-risk patients. Past studies have shown that hospitals with better nursing work environments provide better quality of care, but less is known about…
Manage physician preference cards to boost efficiency and patient safety
Surgeons often complain that their physician preference cards (PPCs) are not current, and keeping on top of the situation can be a struggle. Yet having accurate information on these cards greatly enhances both efficiency and patient safety, say surgical services leaders who have overhauled their systems. In this article, experts…
Dedication, determination help tame PPC beast
Even the most experienced OR leaders often view physician preference cards (PPCs) as a beast that acts out and demands attention at the most inconvenient times. Two organizations that have managed to tame the PPC beast shared their experiences with OR Manager. Updating cards saves more than $3.2 million Tresa…
New schedule adds efficiency, bolsters caseload
Theoretical advantages exist for both block and nonblock scheduling. Facilities with enough space and staff may be able to schedule cases on the basis of patient and surgeon convenience, but that doesn’t work for facilities with less flexibility. At our facility, problems associated with first-come, first-served booking led to an…
High reliability: Excellent care every time
High reliability has now permeated the healthcare literature, but some clinicians are still unsure exactly what it means. A simple definition offered by Coleen Smith, MBA, RN, CPHQ, director of High Reliability Initiatives for the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, is “excellence in patient care for every patient, every…
Free Daily News
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