Improved communication tools put PACU visitors at ease
About 8 years ago, Maine Medical Center (MMC) in Portland had a policy that required visitors to wait in the surgery waiting room at least 3 hours before being allowed to visit their loved ones. The postanesthesia care unit (PACU) nurse was not expected to communicate with the family while…
Track ASC metrics to produce a healthy bottom line
Each day seems to bring new tasks for leaders of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), adding to their already overflowing plate. One task that can easily fall off that plate is collecting and analyzing metrics, yet failing to do so can have serious financial consequences. OR Manager recently asked ASC leaders…
Walk the talk: Words matter when it comes to patient safety
Every week Ann Shimek, MSN, BSN, RN, CASC, hits the road to communicate about communicating. Shimek is senior vice president of clinical operations at United Surgical Partners International (USPI) in Addison, Texas. She and her team of six clinical nurses travel among USPIโs 21 hospitals and 260 ambulatory surgery centers…
ACS NSQIP pilot identifies geriatricโspecific risk factors that affect surgical outcomes
Editor's Note A new pilot study from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) finds that adding geriatric-specific risk factors to traditional risk factors could significantly improve the ability of surgeons to predict poor surgical outcomes in older patients. The study involved 36,399 older surgical…
AMA, partners on initiative to develop integrated platform for big data analytics
Editor's Note The American Medical Association (AMA) and its partners, including the American Medical Informatics Association, IBM, and Cerner, are developing an integrated platform for clinical informatics and big data analytics, the October 16 HealthIT Analytics reports. The aim of the physician-led Integrated Health Model Initiative is to help healthcare…
FDA clears new surgical robot
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 13 cleared the Senhance System (TransEnterix Surgical Inc, Morrisville, North Carolina), a new robotically-assisted surgical device. The design of the Senhance System allows surgeons to sit at a console unit that provides a 3-D high-definition view of the surgical…
Study: Nursing workforce growing more diverse, educated
Editor's Note The nursing workforce is growing more diverse and educated, and relationships between nurses and physicians are improving, finds this study. Data on nearly 5,000 nurses in 13 states were included in the study. The nurses comprised four cohorts who were surveyed in 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2016. Significantly…
Joint Commission abandons proposed telehealth standards
Editor's Note The Joint Commission has abandoned proposed amendments to its accreditation standards that would have required healthcare systems to obtain patient consent, confirm patient location, and predict a patientโs financial responsibility before providing telehealth services, the October 11 mHealth Intelligence reports. The changes, which would have amended two existing…
Frailty linked to increased morbidity after ambulatory general surgery
Editor's Note Frailty was associated with postoperative morbidity in patients having ambulatory general surgery procedures, independent of age, type of anesthesia, and other comorbidities, this study finds. In this study of 140,828 patients older than 40 years of age, frailty was associated with increased adjusted odds of 30-day morbidity after…
Capitol Hill lawmakers participate in ACS bleeding control training
Editor's Note Nearly 40 members of Congress and staff on October 12 received training from surgeon members of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) on how to stop life-threatening bleeding. The class was designed to teach individuals with no prior medical knowledge how to control rapid bleeding from traumatic injuries…