Joint Commission issues new Sentinel Event Alert on violence against healthcare workers
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on April 17 announced that it had issued a new Sentinel Event Alert 59: Physical and verbal violence against healthcare workers. The Joint Commission issued the alert during Workplace Violence Awareness Month to help healthcare workers in hospitals and other healthcare settings recognize violence from…
FDA approves firmware update for Abbott ICDs, CRT-Ds
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 17 announced that it had approved a firmware update that is now available for certain Abbott (formerly St Jude Medical) implantable cardiac devices (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds). The update is a corrective action (recall) to reduce the…
Patient optimization clinic creates a recipe for success
The government and insurance companies have imposed increasing penalties on healthcare facilities in recent years for readmissions. And with good reason: High readmission rates greatly increase costs and sometimes signal poor patient safety practices. In 2015, roughly 2 million patients were readmitted, costing Medicare $27 billion, according to the Centers…
OR leaders feel the pain of the opioid crisis
The OR isn’t exempt from the effects of the opioid crisis. Identifying patients taking opioids is part of OR clinicians’ responsibilities, and they also play an important role in preventing opioid addiction. “We have patients who have opioid use disorder [OUD] and neglect to tell us,” says Mary Jo Steiert,…
Editorial
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 2 million Americans have a prescription-related opioid use disorder, and 46 people die from a prescription opioid-related overdose every day—more than a fourfold increase since 1999. Statistics like these are in the news nearly every day, and there is…
'Reality-based rules' diffuse drama in the OR
All of the keynote presentations at the 2017 OR Manager Conference offered much food for thought, but probably the most memorable one was Cy Wakeman’s riveting talk on the impact of “drama” in the workplace. That resonated with OR leaders who struggle against the tide of negative attitudes among their…
ECRI Institute PSO sheds light on opioid use in acute care
OR Manager, Inc., and ECRI Institute have joined in a collaboration to bring OR Manager readers periodic articles on topics such as medical technology management and procurement, risk management, and patient safety. ECRI Institute is an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care. Opioids are the…
What do 'patient first' care models look like?
Creating a positive patient experience creates patient satisfaction, which can affect reimbursement. But it’s not just business that calls many OR leaders to focus on patient experience. Having been a patient who has had surgery, it’s near and dear to my heart,” says Carol Pehotsky, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, ACNS-BC, CPAN,…
Pledge makes positive culture a priority in the OR--Part 3
This article is the third in a three-part series by Joe Tye, chief executive officer and head coach, Values Coach Inc, and Bob Dent, senior vice president, chief operating and chief nursing officer at Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas. Part 1 was published in March (pp 19-21, 27) and…
Daily preop opioid use linked to worse outcomes after scoliosis surgery
Editor's Note Daily narcotic use before adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery was associated with poorer outcomes 2 years postoperatively, this study finds. In this multicenter analysis of 575 patients, 425 had complete 2-year follow-up. A total of 44% reported daily preoperative narcotic use. Compared with non-daily users, daily narcotic users…