Editor's Note Pregnant women who work two night shifts per week have a heightened risk for miscarriage after pregnancy week 8, this Danish study finds. Of 22,744 pregnant women analyzed, 2 or more night shifts the previous week increased the risk of miscarriage after pregnancy week 8 (hazard ratio, 1.32).…

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Editor's Note Better work environments are associated with lower odds of negative outcomes ranging from job dissatisfaction to patient mortality, finds this meta-analysis from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. This analysis of data from 2,677 hospitals, 141 nursing units, 165,024 nurses, and 1,368,420 patients in 22 countries found…

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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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Pressure to contain opioid overuse in the United States is at a boiling point. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that overdose deaths linked to opioid prescriptions have increased fivefold over the last two decades. To reduce reliance on opioid prescriptions, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 20 announced that it is seeking comments on a proposed element of performance (EP) for office-based surgery practices that provide fluoroscopy services. The new requirement−Environment of Care (EC) standard EC.02.02.01−addresses the monitoring of radiation exposure badges. The deadline for comments is March 29.

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