Faster procedures benefit patients and bottom line
Shortening the time it takes for an outpatient procedure may increase volume, OR utilization, and hence revenue—but that is not the point, say the nation’s top performers in a recent survey of procedure times. Rather, the purpose is to enhance patient safety and satisfaction. For example, less time in the…
Upping the game for OR cleaning with monitoring and partnerships
All ORs have protocols for cleaning between cases and at the end of the day’s schedule. But constant vigilance is needed to make sure cleaning is thorough and carried out consistently. Though an OR may look clean, studies have shown there’s room for improvement. For example, only 25% of OR…
Benchmarking labor productivity: How is your OR being compared?
Productivity monitoring and management are near the top of the priority list for every perioperative nursing director. With 50% to 80% of a hospital’s costs in labor, staffing dollars are a big target for cost management. Some experts say hospitals and health systems will face budget cuts of 20% to…
Editorial
This month’s article on preop testing research had a familiar ring (page 20). Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston have found much more testing is being done than seems to be needed. They’re documenting the patterns. Seems not much has changed. These new studies join…
Simulation study supports use of crisis checklists
Surgical checklists have gained traction in recent years as studies have shown that they improve patient safety. Using surgical crisis checklists might be the next logical step, judging by a recent simulation study. OR staff missed just 6% of life-saving steps when using crisis checklists, but when staff relied on…
OR zone system: A fast and effective way to clean
A protocol using color-coded zones has yielded a more thorough, efficient cleaning process for one 17-room OR. The OR leaders knew they had to step up cleaning as part of an effort to reduce surgical site infection (SSI) rates and to accomplish between-case cleaning more systematically. The answer: Divide each…
Could technology lend a hand in cleaning of ORs?
Manual cleaning is performed by humans, and thus will always be imperfect. Could technology lend a hand? Some hospitals and a few ORs are adopting an extra disinfection step—employing robot-like machines that can disinfect an entire room. The machines are meant to augment—not replace—manual cleaning. These technologies have some compelling…
Safer Surgery: The preoperative testing process
Ten elements of safer surgery. The third in a series, this article focuses on presurgical evaluation. Making sure patients have the appropriate preoperative preparation, including testing, is necessary not only for patients’ safe care but also for a smooth process on the day of surgery. Advocate Health Care, a…
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