Safety/Quality
FCOTS increase through smarter scheduling and surgeon accountability
Starting the first cases of the day on time is key for maintaining the OR schedule. A delay in first case on-time starts (FCOTS) can lead to less OR utilization, greater facility costs, and dissatisfaction among physicians, OR staff, and patients. It’s a problem in many surgical suites, but when…
Study supports value of nurses with specialty certifications
Editor's Note In this study, specialty certification was associated with greater professional identity in ICU nurses and higher perceptions of knowledge of and value in evidence-based practices, whereas education level was not. Of 268 respondents from six hospitals and 12 adult ICUs in an integrated health system, 71% had a…
2020 designated Year of the Nurse
Editor's Note The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, in honor of the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. WHO and its partners are leading a year-long effort to celebrate the work of nurses and midwives, highlight the challenging…
Relationship between patient falls and levels of nursing education, certification
Editor's Note Higher levels of nursing education and more certified nurses improved the number of patient falls in this study. Using data from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators from 2010 to 2016 from medical centers in Central and Southern Illinois, researchers found that with every 1-unit increase in…
Spending, quality effects of Medicare’s bundled payments for lower-extremity joint replacement
Editor's Note In this study, researchers found that over a 3-year period, compared to no participation, participation in Medicare’s Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) program was associated with a 1.6% decrease in average lower extremity joint replacement spending with no changes in quality, driven by early participants. When looking…
Can punctuality decrease OR costs?
Editor's Note In this study from Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, a first case on-time starts (FCOTS) improvement initiative was linked to a higher frequency of FCOTS, which was independently associated with last case on-time ends (LCOTE) and decreased OR overtime costs. Of 12,073 cases (6,095 pre- vs…
Patients prefer checklists to be completed in front of them
Editor's Note Surgery patients overwhelmingly prefer pre-surgical safety checklists to be completed in front of them, contrary to what is thought by anesthesiologists, this Swiss study finds. In this trial, which included 110 anesthesiologists and 125 non-premedicated ear-nose-throat or maxillofacial surgery patients, the patients overwhelmingly agreed that anesthesiologists should use…
FDA: Class I recall of Cook Medical’s CrossCath Support Catheters
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 17 identified the recall by Cook Medical of its CrossCath Support Catheters as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a manufacturing error that may cause the radiopaque marker bands on the catheters to dislodge or…
Development of surgery-specific second victim peer support program
Editor's Note In this study, researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital, designed, implemented, and assessed the effect of the first surgery-specific peer support program in the US. The program uses five steps: creation of a conceptual framework choice of peer supporters training of peer supporters multifaceted identification of major adverse…
Boston Scientific receives FDA clearance for single-use duodenoscope
Editor's Note Boston Scientific announced December 13 that it had received Food & Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance for the EXALT Model D Single-Use Duodenoscope for use in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures. The EXALT Model D, which was granted Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA, eliminates the need for…
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