The Best in OR Business Award will be presented to Karlene Power, MSN, BSN, RN, at the 2018 OR Business Management Conference in San Antonio on February 1. Power already has been recognized for her outstanding work at Banner Health in Phoenix, where she is system executive director, perioperative service…
Concern about opioid abuse has reached epic proportions in recent months, and healthcare providers have come under increasing pressure to help mitigate the problem. Curbing the tendency to overprescribe pain medications is considered the first, most obvious step, but there are other actions that can also improve patient safety. Nurse…
Tapping incoming or newly graduated OR nurses as champions and preceptors for initiatives works quite well, say some OR leaders. Though less experienced than their peers, these nurses bring to the table up-to-date knowledge, energy, a fresh set of eyes, and comfort with new technology. In turn, making them experts…
Medical technology is intended to improve patient care, but even the best technology—if configured, used, or maintained improperly—can lead to problems. Hospitals must regularly examine their hazard control priorities to target the most pressing risks. ECRI Institute’s annual Top 10 Health Technology Hazards report identifies high-priority sources of danger or…
Licensed healthcare professionals working in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) can now earn a Certified Ambulatory Infection Preventionistâ„¢ (CAIPâ„¢) credential to demonstrate their understanding of the skills and knowledge required to fill the role of an infection preventionist (IP) in an ASC. The new certification program can also help IPs working…
The migration of total joint replacements for knees and hips from inpatient hospital ORs to hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) is spreading. On November 1, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) bolstered the trend when it approved the removal of total knee arthroplasty (TKA)…
Mergers and acquisitions of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) have increased recently, as organizations perceive the opportunities provided by growth markets, and ASCs realize the benefits of having access to a larger provider network, such as a pipeline of patients and more power in negotiating with insurers. Those transactions can have…
Editor's Note Patients’ satisfaction with hospital care is strongly associated with missed nursing care, which is related to poor nurse staffing and poor work environments, finds this study led by Linda H. Aiken, PhD, RN, director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania…
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on January 17 issued a Safety Alert for the Zoll LifeVest 4000 Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator because of concerns that the device may fail to deliver treatment to patients if the device is not replaced soon after displaying “Call for service: Device has…
Editor's Note Postoperative mortality rises as the day of the week of elective surgery approaches the weekend and is higher after admission for urgent/emergent surgery on the weekend, this meta-analysis from the University of Calgary finds. The analysis included 10 studies that involved about 6.7 million patients having elective procedures…