An innovative program at The University of Kansas Hospital (TUKH), Kansas City, for managing vendor partnerships has saved the hospital $1.9 million in just 8 months of operation. “We’ve found that pricing and inventory management requires key partnerships with suppliers,” says Brian Dolan, MHSA, CMRP, RHIA, CHDA, SSGB, director of…

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Business managers have seen a rise in salaries and number of direct reports over the past 5 years, but their overall role remains consistent, according to the 23rd annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. More than a third (34%) of respondents have a business manager on their team. The average annual…

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OR Business Performance is a series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business. Hospitals depend on surgical services to generate more than half their revenue and profit. Yet according to the latest OR Manager Salary/Career Survey, only one-third of hospitals employ an OR business…

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A new publication by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) zeros in on the role of outpatient care facilities in responding to disasters—specifically, how they can prevent infection in their patients, staff, and the community at large. The guide, “Infection Prevention for Ambulatory Care Centers During…

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Much work needed to make hospitals highly reliable To achieve a goal of zero patient harm, hospitals must adopt lessons from high-risk industries, finds a Joint Commission report. The authors say hospital leadership must • commit to the goal of zero patient harm rather than viewing it as unrealistic •…

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OR directors and managers in hospitals are experiencing stability in their income and in patient volume, according to the 23rd annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. Average annual salary in 2013 was $120,000, unchanged from 2012. The average annual raise increased slightly, from 2.8% last year to 3.3% in 2013, but…

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Surgery is a stressful time not only for patients but also for their families. Using a surgical liaison to communicate the status of an operation to those in the waiting area has boosted the satisfaction of patients, families, and surgeons, say perioperative directors whose hospitals have these positions. The liaison…

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Despite increasingly stiff penalties, health care-associated infections persist. Total annual costs for the 5 major health care-associated infections are $9.8 billion, say researchers led by Eyal Zimlichman, MD, of the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. Surgical site infections rack up about…

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