Takeaways • Healthcare consumers are not aware that they can ask how much something costs. • There is disconnect between the law and common knowledge, and patients generally are confused about what they receive as good faith estimates. • In addition to incorrect CPT codes and OON allowable charges, the…

Read More

The topic of artificial intelligence (AI) makes headlines almost daily. Eliminating any fatalistic doomsday scenarios, current literature is raising interesting points around the useability of AI and the ethical considerations regular users of AI should not ignore. In the healthcare space, the number one question seems to be, Is it…

Read More

In this issue, I am following up the information I shared in the July issue of OR Manager regarding the findings of the 2022 National Nursing Workforce Survey. The perioperative nursing shortage is widespread, and what we are now experiencing is as unsettling and challenging as anything we have experienced…

Read More

ORs are at the heart of healthcare organizations, where critical decisions are made, often under immense pressure. This pressure has escalated with ever-increasing demands, growing complexities, and the constant requirement for innovative solutions. In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and the emerging generative AI…

Read More

Healthcare facilities face challenges in the recall process of tissue, non-biologic implants, and medical devices because of their time-sensitive nature and inherent risks to patient safety and compliance. Hospitals often use secondary sources for recall notifications. These lists, however, do not include two critical pieces—the identification of affected patient cases…

Read More

Using sterile items in surgery is a fundamental practice, not a rudimentary one that can or should be taken for granted. Put simply, using unsterile items can result in a patient infection. If sterile storage conditions are not appropriate, the items can become contaminated. Such contamination may go undetected, rendering…

Read More

A big question was circulating amongst the OR professionals at the AORN Global Surgical Conference floor this year: “How do we improve our miscount protocols?” It was clear that nurses and OR managers are looking for a better miscount management solution. Manual counting has been the standard in preventing retained…

Read More

  Systems for managing electronic hospital records (EHR) are critical for recording, storing, and protecting patient data, but these systems fall short in situations where real-time data is needed, such as in the surgical department. Relying on time-consuming data entry by busy OR staff, EHR systems alone simply cannot capture…

Read More