Editor's Note Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on March 15 amended the February 4, 2020, COVID-19 emergency use authorizations for: diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 personal respiratory protective equipment other medical devices including alternative products used as medical devices drug and biological products. These emergency…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 17 identified the recall by Datascope/Getinge of certain Cardiosave Hybrid and Rescue Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumps (IABPs) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the coiled cable connecting the display and base on some units may fail,…

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Editor's Note The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 14 released an updated WHO health workforce support and safeguards list for 2023, which identifies 55 countries as vulnerable of not having the availability of healthcare workers required to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal target for universal health coverage (UHC)…

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Takeaways Leading practice is innovative, people-centered, and evidence-informed and can encompass best practices and benchmarking data. This article includes survey data on flip rooms, scheduling, preference cards, first case on-time start, and sterile processing department. The total number of respondents for Part 1 of the survey was 142, the majority…

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Takeaways Perioperative staffing issues are likely to continue throughout 2023 because of rising case volumes and a lack of experienced staff. Travelers are expected to remain a core part of staffing. Perioperative leaders are using multiple strategies to recruit and retain staff, including float pools for health systems that have…

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At OR Manager, we understand the challenges perioperative leaders are facing in the rapidly changing healthcare landscape. We have all heard the same thing: The way we operate in healthcare has changed, and we need to adapt to the new normal. Staffing concerns, in particular, are top-of-mind for perioperative leaders.…

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A visual management board is a communication tool that provides at-a-glance information about current process performance to help staff coordinate and guide their daily work and monitor ongoing improvement projects. Perioperative staff at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, have a 20-minute weekly huddle at their Lean-based visual management board,…

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Situational awareness is the perception of events occurring around a person in a particular environment. Knowing what is happening helps that person make better decisions. But how does that apply in the perioperative context? In 2004, The Joint Commission made situational awareness the cornerstone of its surgical timeout requirement. The…

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The medical device industry aims to create valuable innovations that help improve patient outcomes, reduce costs, and improve efficiencies for OR staff. Because these technologies and devices have a myriad of benefits, improving speed to value is a top priority. A key component of extracting the full value of these…

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Congratulations. You have worked hard to master your skills in the sterile processing department (SPD). You have prepared, been interviewed, and finally been promoted to a leadership position. Now, what? Yesterday you were working as a peer in your department, and now you are the leader. Are you prepared for…

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