DHS releases action guide for healthcare facilities on active shooter incidents
Editor's Note The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued an action guide for active shooter incidents specifically for hospitals and healthcare facilities. The action guide includes potential indicators of an individual who may become an active shooter. It also gives recommendations for staff on what they should do if…
IV bags of normal saline, D5W do not support bacterial growth 24 hours after spiking
Editor's Note No bacterial growth was found in any of 257 samples of normal saline and dextrose 5% in water (D5W) 24 hours after using standard sterile techniques to spike them in the perioperative area. Two 1000 mL bags of IV normal saline and D5W were spiked and hung in…
FDA issues warning on use of unauthorized devices for diabetes management
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on May 17 issued a warning to patients and healthcare professionals on the risks associated with the use of unapproved or unauthorized devices for diabetes management, including continuous glucose monitoring systems, insulin pumps, and automated insulin dosing systems. The use of these…
How will artificial intelligence impact surgical patient care? Part 2
As part of a special series on artificial intelligence (AI), OR Manager is taking a deep dive into the many facets of this new technology and its impact on patient care. Part 1 of this introduction to the series (OR Manager, May 2019, 1, 7-11) defined several different types of…
OR leaders see benefits of briefer NPO period
Though long fasting before a surgical procedure is tied to increased patient risks, the outdated guideline of NPO after midnight continues to be practiced by many healthcare organizations. In 1999, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) revised their fasting guidelines to clear liquids up to 2 hours before surgery and…
Editorial
Nearly 40 โawarenessโ or prevention and education wellness initiatives are listed for the month of Mayโamong them, National Nurses Week, World Hand Hygiene Day, and Mental Health Month. Mental health caught my eye because it was a featured topic at the World Healthcare Congress in Washington, DC, where a panel…
Good questions lay foundation for powerful leadership pipeline
Success for any new leader hinges on the ability to be both โstudentโ and โteacherโ because the role requires learning and mentoring. Striking a balance between these roles can be especially daunting for new perioperative services leaders, which is why Bruce Tulgan was invited to speak at the 2019 OR…
Artificial intelligence makes surgical 'black box' smarter
Perioperative services departments have been slow to adopt the black boxes used in the aviation industry, partly because it can take a large team of experts hours to analyze data collected by the box. However, the team behind a surgical black box is using artificial intelligence (AI) to significantly cut…
Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for 2019
Healthcare is striving to become an industry of high-reliability organizations, and part of being a high-reliability industry means staying vigilant and identifying problems proactively. ECRI Instituteโs annual Top 10 list helps organizations identify looming patient safety challenges and offers suggestions and resources for addressing them. ECRI Institute relied on event…
From NASA to the OR: How to launch on-time starts
Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, located in Lake Forest, Illinois, has taken a giant leap in curtailing late starts in the OR. In December 2016, the facilityโs on-time start percentage was only 37%. Perioperative team members dug in their heels and, by August 2017, increased their on-time starts to 77%.…