The Joint Commission issues Quick Safety on instrument reprocessing
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 14 issued a new Quick Safety on โEnsuring critical instruments and devises are appropriate for reuse.โ The Quick Safety highlights reprocessing guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as special considerations for single use devices reprocessed by third parties that…
4,500 physicians joined 3 ASC chains, 7 hospitals to open ASCs
Editor's Note According to the February 11 Beckerโs ASC Review, three of the largest ambulatory surgery center (ASC) companies in the US added some 4,500 physicians to their staff in 2021. United Surgical Partners International (USPI), in Dallas reported adding more than 3,400 physicians last year, as well as 90…
Patients rate telehealth physician visits favorably during COVID-19 pandemic
Editor's Note This study by UCLA researchers finds patient experiences with telehealth physician appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic were as positive as traditional face-to-face visits and phone visits, or even more so. The researchers surveyed 58,509 adult patients on their 13,928 primary care and 44,581 specialty physician visits at 197…
CMS delays Hospital Quality Star Ratings update until July
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on February 11 announced it will delay updating the Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings on the Care Compare website until July, the American Hospital Association reports. The delay is needed so CMS can correct a calculation error in the CY…
Study: Rise in healthcare-associated infections during pandemic
Editor's Note In an analysis published on February 12 by the New England Journal of Medicine, findings indicate that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents of healthcare-associated infections and other patient safety complications have been on the rise, Beckerโs Hospital Review reports. According to the analysis authors, there…
Effectiveness of reprocessing ureteroscopes, other endoscopic devices
Each year, there are more studies raising concerns about infections associated with endoscopic procedures and the techniques used to clean and sterilize or high-level disinfect (HLD) endoscopic devices. In this article, in partnership with Boston Scientific, epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and CEO of Ofstead & Associates, St Paul,…
Allan Sendaydiego: Answering the call to lead
What happens to you when you become a new manager? โYou become a jack of all trades and master of none. You need to practice true collaboration and rely upon your team members,โ says Allan Sendaydiego, BSN, RN, interim director for anesthesia and interventional radiology at Kaiser Permanente. In this…
Editorial
With the rising numbers of staff shortages, early retirements, and employee dismissals, many OR staff are finding themselves taking up managerial positions with short preparation times and little support. That was a recurring theme discussed with the New Manager Panel at the 2021 OR Manager Conferenceโattendees shared some of their…
Upending stereotypes of nursing operational priorities, abilities
Prior to the advent of nurses in operational leadership roles, operational decisions in healthcare were made by financial and business executives, as well as physicians, without full and adequate input from nursing. Today, nurses have earned their place at the management table as a vital part of the outcomes of…
Acclimating to OR, sterile processing department cultures
The differences between sterile processing (SP) and OR tasks and department cultures are significant. However, they share a collective goal: both work toward the best outcome for every patient. Still, both departments often suffer from having unrealistic goals for each other. One example is that the OR may expect instruments…