The use of electrosurgical instrumentation is common in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). However, while these instruments are common, processing them is complex and time-consuming. Insulated electrosurgical instrumentation can cause patient harm, including an electrical burn, if there is a breach in the insulation. These instruments are designed to have an…

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Editor's Note ECRI on January 11 announced that it is launching a new monthly video series featuring healthcare insights from its experts. Each episode will include topics of relevance to healthcare leaders, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, patient safety and risk management professionals, supply chain leaders, and biomedical engineers. The first…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 10 announced that it had recently issued two warning letters to Olympus Medical Systems Corporation and one of its subsidiaries, Aizu Olympus Co, Ltd, after facility inspections. The letters addressed violations related to medical device reporting (MDR) requirements and quality…

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Editor's Note Allina Health and software company Qventus partnered earlier this year to implement an artificial intelligence-based tool to help automate OR scheduling, according to a January 10 PR Newswire release, reports January 11 Becker’s Hospital Review. The tool has capabilities to integrate into electronic health record systems and uses…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 16 identified the recall by Teleflex and Arrow International, LLC, of its Arrow MAC Two-Lumen Central Venous Access Kits and Arrow Pressure Injectable Arrowg+ard Blue Plus Three-Lumen Central Venous Catheter (CVC) Kits as Class I, the most serious. The recall…

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Editor's Note This study led by epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and associates, St Paul, Minnesota, found visible damage and residue or debris in 100% of 25 processed flexible endoscopes, using a new visual inspection program that included magnification and borescopes. Fully processed endoscopes were examined twice during a 2-month…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on December 20, identified the recall by Arrow International, LLC, subsidiary of Teleflex, Inc, of its Arrow AutoCAT 2 and AC3 intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs) as Class I, the most serious. IABPs are used in patients having cardiac and non-cardiac surgery, and…

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Editor's Note Hospital leaders are preparing for what is expected to be a turbulent 2023, according to results of a December 13 survey from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, reports December 19 Healthcare Purchasing News. The majority of health system leaders said that staffing challenges (85%) and inflation (76%)…

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Takeaways Natural language processing (NLP) may be helpful for predicting surgical outcomes and can facilitate more robust research. NLP comes with challenges that include potential for bias, costs, technology and terminology barriers, and the need to adapt to new ways of thinking. Before purchasing products that use NLP, OR leaders…

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Recent analysis provided by the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors (AMDR) indicates that US hospitals could save up to $2.28 billion a year by maximizing the use of reprocessed single-use medical devices. According to the report, in 2020, US hospitals saved $372 million just by reprocessing single-use medical devices, as…

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