Best business practices to boost the bottom line
Editor's Note Cost control is top of mind for OR business managers, and finding new ways to shave budgets and reduce inventory is a chief reason they attend the OR Business Management Conference. This theme is addressed in multiple sessions. On Monday, January 28, attendees learned how to fine-tune capital…
OR Business Management preconference workshops expand skill sets
Editor's Note A mid-winter break and two high-quality preconference workshops drew a number of OR Business Management Conference attendees to San Diego on Sunday, January 27. During “Slice and Dice Data to Improve Patient Outcomes,” a team from Mercy Hospital explained how this concept relates to OR profitability, new service…
Forward-looking conference keynotes envision evolution of healthcare
Editor's Note Leading healthcare industry clinicians and experts will set the stage for the latest OR business developments during the 2019 OR Business Management Conference. On Monday, January 28, David Wyatt, PhD, MPH, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC, will kick off the conference with “Business Intelligence—The Intersection of Analytics and Operations.” Wyatt,…
Use of regional anesthesia in ambulatory arthroscopic knee surgery and ACL reconstruction
Editor's Note Adductor canal nerve block (ACB) provides modest analgesic benefits after ambulatory arthroscopic knee surgery, including improved relief for rest pain for 8 hours and reduced opioid consumption for 24 hours, this meta-analysis finds. However, ACB did not provide any analgesic benefits and did not improve any outcomes, compared…
Joint Commission reinstates volume requirement for stroke center certification programs
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on January 23 announced that it is reinstating the individual mechanical thrombectomy volume eligibility requirement for the Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center (TSC) and Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) certification programs. The Joint Commission is also implementing a revised volume requirement in 6 months that expands which physicians…
Effect of referring high-risk patients to local high-quality hospitals
Editor's Note In this study, complication rates and Medicare payments were significantly lower for high-risk surgical patients treated at local high-quality hospitals. Analyzing elderly Medicare patients having any of four elective inpatient surgical procedures between 2012 and 2014, researchers found that one-fourth of high-risk patients had surgery at a low-quality…
Medtronic recalls nearly 157,000 dual-chamber pacemakers
Editor's Note Medtronic published an urgent recall on January 7 for a subset of its dual-chamber pacemakers because some may temporarily lose their ability to pace the heart. The recall affects 156,957 devices distributed worldwide between March 10, 2017, and January 7, 2019, under the brand names Adapta, Versa, and…
Automated text messages improve joint replacement outcomes
Editor's Note An automated text messaging system increased patient engagement with home-based exercise and promoted faster recovery after knee and hip replacements, this study finds. In this analysis of 159 patients (83 controls, 76 intervention) having total knee or hip replacement surgery, those receiving timely texts showed improvement in the…
Robotics expanding rapidly in orthopedics, spine
Editor's Note The Healthcare Quarterly report by Moody’s Investors Service shows the orthopedics and spine sectors increasingly performing robotic-assisted procedures, the January 18 Becker’s Spine Review reports. This is resulting in strong growth for device firms with major investments in these specialties, particularly Medtronic with its Mazor robotics platform for…
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OR Manager is a monthly national magazine for operating room administrators, managers, and business managers in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. Articles focus mainly on the business of managing perioperative services staff, best clinical and financial practices, and patient safety. Submitted articles are reviewed by our editor, clinical editor, and…