New clinical evidence can take a long time to find its way into practice. How to accelerate that process is the subject of a new project by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Project JOINTS, rolled out in 5 states in April 2011, focuses on accelerating adoption of evidence-based practices…

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Robotic surgical procedures *Includes cardiothoracic, general, and other urologic and gynecologic procedures. Source: ECRI Institute, 2008. Mention robotics in OR circles, and you're likely to spark a debate. Is robotic surgery an innovative technique with wide application or mainly a marketing ploy to attract patients? Or does the truth lie…

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Preoperative baths or showers to prevent surgical infections have played to mixed reviews. Enthusiasm was dampened after a systematic Cochrane review in 2006, updated in 2009, examined 7 trials and found no clear evidence of a benefit for bathing or showering with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) over a placebo. Preop bathing…

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OR Manager interviewed Vicki Smith-Daniels, PhD, professor of supply chain management at Arizona State University, Tempe, about her research on supply chain management in the surgical suite. Qwhy do we need an academic study of the surgical supply chain? Smith-Daniels: The short answer is: Clinicians like scientific evidence. The surgical…

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An orthopedic surgeon announces she is revising her orders to call for aspirin as the sole prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism (VTE) for her patients having total joint replacement who are at a standard risk for both pulmonary embolism (PE) and bleeding. She refers to guidelines from the American Academy of…

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"This patient is a 10. Everything went well." Or "This patient is a 5. She will need close monitoring." Before long, physicians and nurses may be using a numerical score like this when transferring patients from the OR to the next level of care. Researchers have validated a 10-point Surgical…

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There's new evidence that the Surgical Safety Checklist developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) improves patient safety. In a worldwide pilot study, patient death and complication rates declined substantially after the checklist was introduced at 8 hospitals. Study participants Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand Philippine General Hospital, Manila…

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Lifting cell phone restrictions isn't a good idea, especially in device-intensive areas like the OR and critical care units, advises ECRI, a nonprofit organization that researches health care technology. "We're still recommending avoiding use of cell phones if possible except in the lobby of the hospital or in areas that…

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