OR Business Management preconference workshops expand skill sets
Editor's Note OR Business Management Conference attendees can jump-start their education this week with either of two preconference workshops on Monday, January 27, from 2 to 5 pm. Both workshops will take deep dives into OR business fundamentals. โThe Big Four: Key Components to Optimizing Your Perioperative Business Savvy,โ presented…
Healthcare industry leaders set stage for successful business management in 2020
Editor's Note Leading healthcare industry clinicians and experts will help OR business managers anticipate changes in patient care delivery and plan for volume growth during the 2020 OR Business Management Conference. On January 28, David Wildebrandt, MHA, will provide a primer on business growth in his keynote address, โNo Margin,…
Industry Spotlight: NUVO
NUVO: Clean Air in The OR Air quality is often taken for granted in the delivery of patient care, but it is an important infection prevention measure to reduce the risk of microbial transmission to patients during surgery. At NUVO, a leading manufacturer of surgical lighting, its mission is to…
Cardinal Health recalls more than 9 million surgical gowns
Editor's Note Cardinal Health is voluntarily recalling 9.1 million potentially contaminated surgical gowns, 7.7 million of which were distributed to 2,807 facilities across the country, the January 22 Beckerโs Hospital Review reports. The company took the action after learning of unsanitary environmental conditions at a plant in China that manufacturers…
Medicare may overpay for postop care
Editor's Note Medicare may be overpaying surgeons for postoperative care they provide to patients, according to a new Rand Corporation analysis in the January 23 New England Journal of Medicine. The authors of the analysis suggest that federal officials should incorporate ways to more objectively measure the amount of postoperative…
Medlineโs Illinois ethylene oxide sterilization facility hopes to reopen end of January
Editor's Note Medline Industries has not operated its Waukegan, Illinois, sterilization facility since December 13, 2019, when it was temporarily closed because it couldnโt meet Illinoisโ new state standards for ethylene oxide, the January 21 MedTech Dive reports. A Lake County Health Department update on January 17 says Medline began…
Examining timing of TKA
Editor's Note The timing of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is important to optimize its benefits, but 90% of patients are waiting too long to have it and getting less benefits, and some 25% of patients are having it prematurely when the benefits are ย minimal, this study finds. Of 3,417 knees…
CDC announces first US case of coronavirus from China
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on January 21 confirmed the first case of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from China in the state of Washington. The patient recently returned from Wuhan, China, where an outbreak of pneumonia caused by this virus has been ongoing since…
Study: Circadian rhythm involved in healing from surgery
Editor's Note The effectiveness of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in managing pain, healing, and recovery after bone fracture depends on when you take them, this study from McGill University finds. The researchers found that NSAIDs are most effective in promoting postoperative healing when taken during the active phase of the…
FDA: Quality issues with Cardinal Health surgical gowns, packs
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on January 16 announced that Cardinal Health has alerted it customers to potential quality issues affecting some of its Level 3 surgical gowns and PreSource procedural packs that contain the gowns. Cardinal Health and the FDA recommend that customers immediately discontinue use…