Is there a standard surgical supply markup?
How do we charge for invasive procedures performed at the bedside? What's the correct way to bill for patients who stay in the recovery room because of a lack of beds in the ICU? In this column, Keith Siddel, MBA, an expert on health care business operations, responds to questions…
Surgical scheduling: Taking an important role to the next level
Wanted: Operating Room Scheduler. Salary $33,000. Operating room schedulers reserve space for each surgical procedure in a hospital or ambulatory surgery facility. They determine how long a procedure will take and what staff is necessary. OR schedulers work with anesthesiologists to assign one for each procedure, as well as OR…
Verification, validation: What's the difference?
There are many reasons you may want to change how you organize or package an instrument set or the sterilization cycle for a set. Maybe the set weighs more than the 25 pounds recommended for containerized instrument sets. Perhaps the original container has sharp edges that tear the wrappers, and…
New studies on preventing retained sponges
Two new independent studies examine the performance of technologies for preventing retained sponges. In the first study, which tested data-matrix-coded sponges (SurgiCount Safety-Sponge System), none of the sponges were retained out of 1.86 million counted over 18 months. The study conducted at the Mayo Clinic Rochester (MCR) in Minnesota was…
Practical prevention: Orthopedie SSls
There's no shortage of literature on preventing orthopedic surgical site infections (SSIs). But how do you translate the evidence into practical strategies that are meaningful to clinicians on the front lines? A new guide aims to help. The Guide to the Prevention of Orthopedic Surgical Site Infections from the Association…
Welcome
To our readers, Chips, pastes, putties, gels, powders, wedges, DBM, BMP, and assorted kits—the list of bone allografts and substitutes is long and confusing. These biologic materials have a big impact on the OR budget, but they are more than just another line of surgical supplies. Biologics originate with a…
Regulating allograft tissue
When your OR is selecting allograft tissue, how do you know which federal regulations govern their safety? The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses a tiered approach to regulating these materials, explains Scott Brubaker, CTBS, chief policy officer for the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB). Minimally processed tissue…
Donor screening: First step in safety
Screening of tissue donors is a critical step in ensuring tissue safety. Screening is a complex, multidisciplinary process that begins every time a family says "yes" to the option of donation and ends when tissue is released for transplant. Tissue banks vary in what is considered a suitable donor. Regulating…
Free Daily News
- Routine preop tests catch hidden risks in outpatient cosmetic surgery, Canadian study finds
- Study: Hospital same‑day knee replacements match ASC outcomes, even in higher‑risk patients
- FDA clears AI platform for real-time surgical measurements
- Study: MRI contrast agent causes harmful metal buildup in some patients
- Dissolvable pacemaker delivers temporary cardiac support without wires, surgery
- CSA taps Milagro’s AI coding to accelerate revenue cycle across ASC network
- Study: Cannabis use complicates sedation, cancer care
- Medication vial coring incidents prompt patient safety concerns
- First single-port robotic renal vein transposition surgery treats nutcracker syndrome
- Study: Mortality prediction models fail to recognize severe patient injuries
Career Center
- Director- Clinical Operations, Operating Room, Riley Children's Hospital - Indiana University Health - Indianapolis, IN
- CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON STANFORD MEDICINE - Stanford University, School of Medicine - Corvallis, OR
- PEDIATRIC CARDIAC SURGEON - Stanford University, School of Medicine - Honolulu, HI
- Tampa Vascular Surgeon - Vein ans Vascular Institute - Tampa, FL