On November 1, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule for the 2018 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System/ASC Payment System and Quality Reporting Programs. In summary, several ambulatory surgery center (ASC) measures (ASC-1 to ASC-14) are unaffected, except that three measures (ASC-5, -6,…

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A new study by Ofstead & Associates (St Paul, Minnesota) is the latest to raise concerns about infections associated with endoscopic procedures. The study, which focused on ureteroscopes, found that the techniques used to clean and sterilize or high-level disinfect flexible ureteroscopes are not sufficient and leave behind contamination including…

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Perioperative services leaders seeking to improve safety and efficiency without sacrificing quality may want to turn to remote video auditing (RVA), which is being successfully used in hospital ORs and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). “We’ve seen improved patient safety, efficiency, and cleaning processes,” says Sheldon Newman, MD, executive vice chairman…

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Session evaluations from the 2017 OR Manager Conference attendees gave uniformly high marks to the keynote speakers. A common theme in many of their presentations was workplace attitudes. They discussed challenges such as converting the disengaged to the highly engaged employee, and fostering a sense of ownership. A workshop on…

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With each passing year, the business of healthcare delivery grows more complex—never more so than in 2017, when a new administration began to grapple with a major overhaul of the Affordable Care Act and changes to provider payment models. Thanks to an unprecedented number of proposals submitted for the 2018…

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Just culture has become a bit of a buzzword, so it’s worth revisiting what the term truly means and how it can be implemented and sustained. Although it’s a powerful tool for improving patient safety, just culture is effective only when leaders set expectations for processes and behavior, and address…

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The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) in September released the newest version of the ANSI/AAMI ST 79 Comprehensive Guide to Steam Sterilization and Sterility Assurance in Healthcare Facilities. This document, last updated in 2013, has been under a major review for changes in the format presentation and…

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Violence is much more common in healthcare than in other industries, and although many violent events in healthcare are perpetrated by patients, a notable percentage are not. Individuals other than patients who may cause violence in healthcare settings include family members of patients and other visitors, employees, and criminals. Many…

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