San Diego in January is a place where many people would rather be, and the 475 healthcare business and industry leaders who gathered there for the 2019 OR Business Management Conference (ORBMC) enjoyed the mild climate along with high-quality presentations and fun networking events. Conference attendance rises each year, yet…

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Managing the OR is similar to playing a game of poker. To win, a player must be able to read the others around the table, and to succeed, managers must be able to read their staff members and colleagues. Most importantly, they all must know the rules and when it’s…

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Attendees at the annual OR Manager Conference have enjoyed the opportunity to ask experienced OR leaders questions about difficult managerial and clinical issues. The popularity of these “Ask Me Anything” sessions reflects the hunger for knowledge about how things are handled in ORs around the country, and they will be…

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Contaminated surgical instruments made ECRI Institute’s 2019 annual top 10 list of health technology hazards, coming in at number five: “Mishandling flexible endoscopes after disinfection can lead to patient infections.” Number two on the list in 2018 was “Endoscope reprocessing failures continue to expose patients to infection risk.” It’s not…

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Several never events at The Medical Center of Aurora (TMCA) in Aurora, Colorado, over a 1-year period prompted leaders there to launch patient safety first (PSF) initiatives. Part 1 of this series discussed how these initiatives were identified and implemented, and the importance of evidence-based communication tools (OR Manager, March…

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Surgical site infections are multifactorial, and perioperative leaders often struggle with how to reduce or eliminate them. In 2013, after an unexplained increase in surgical site infections (SSIs) among patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty at our facility, we began to investigate the cause. A fairly robust ERAS (enhanced recovery after…

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Supply chain is ripe for innovation, as Amazon Business and technology manufacturers have discovered. In part 1 of this two-part series, we focused on the company’s role in the supply chain (OR Manager, February 2019, 1, 9-12). In part 2, we look at technology-related trends and innovations that can improve…

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An estimated 22 million people in the US have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but up to 80% of cases are undiagnosed, and some 30% to 40% of the surgical population has diagnosed or suspected sleep apnea. More than 3 years ago, the Joint Commission issued a Quick Safety document about…

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