The new year brings a newly updated Guideline for Manual Chemical High-Level Disinfection (formerly the Guideline for High-Level Disinfection). This AORN guideline, which is based on a comprehensive, systematic review of research- and non-research-based evidence, recommends best practices for safe and effective high-level disinfection (HLD) performed manually when automated methods…

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Effective use of a daily huddle and customized software for scheduling have had a dramatic impact on efficiency at NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital in New York City. Cancellations on the day of surgery have dropped from a rate of about 10% prior to implementation of huddles to less than 1%,…

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When launching a new ambulatory surgery center (ASC), owners must consider a myriad of issues—financing, design, building construction or purchase, regulatory compliance, certification, staffing, and marketing. Underlying all of these considerations are which procedures the center will provide and whether the ASC will be single specialty, like gastrointestinal (GI) or…

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Healthcare mergers and acquisitions are becoming as common as add-on cases in the OR, with hospitals struggling to stay profitable in a financially challenging environment. Between 2008 and 2014, the United States had nearly 400 hospital mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with more than 750 hospitals being acquired or merged. “It’s…

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Kermit the frog famously said, “it’s not easy being green.” He longed to be some other color, and OR leaders faced with managing a bully have probably wished they, too, could be someone—or somewhere—else. Using some recommended approaches can help. In Part 2 of this three-part series on bullying, OR…

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Uncertainty was the defining characteristic of the healthcare industry in 2017 as regulatory changes were proposed, rejected, revised, or tabled for now. The individual insurance mandate was repealed as part of a year-end tax reform bill—a victory for an administration that favors deregulation, but also a change that is projected…

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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…

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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…

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