Editor's Note Virtual reality (VR) may help older patients manage anxiety before open-heart surgery, according to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Medical Xpress covered the news February 12. According to the article, researchers found that immersive VR and tablet-based VR significantly lowered anxiety levels, offering a nonpharmacological alternative…

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Editor's Note As executive director of the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM), Michael Schiller, CMRP, gets regular insight into strategies employed by healthcare organizations, suppliers, technology leaders and frontline staff—insight he was happy to share with OR business Management Conference attendees in a February 11 presentation.…

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Editor's Note Attendees to the 2025 OR Business Management Conference gained new insight with an international flavor from Moustafa Bleik and Fadi Fares, who had flown all the way from Saudi Arabia to detail recent improvements at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center. In a session with multiple audience…

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Editor's Note Jasmine Hampton-Nicholson MSN, RN, CNOR, learned the value of a value analysis team (VAT) the hard way. “I thought that we had a very solid process for our value analysis team,” said the VP of perioperative services at Temple University Health System in a presentation at 2025 OR…

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Editor's Note Driving efficiency in perioperative scheduling requires a combination of the right technology, cross-team collaboration, and a commitment to change management. This was among the primary takeaways of an OR Business Management Conference session on Northwell Health's approach to optimizing operating room (OR) workflows. Adam Becker, MPA, assistant vice…

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Editor's Note Restructuring inventory management has slashed costs and enhanced efficiency at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), presenters revealed at the OR Business Management Conference, touting an initial savings estimate of $200 million. Presented by Paul Flaherty, CRCST, Senior Manager Customer Service,   Joshua Gomez, MPH, Business Operations Manager, and Steve Spring,…

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CEO Karen Franco, MBA, spent years struggling to fill surgical technologist (ST) positions at Pacific Surgery Center in Poulsbo, Washington, due to a lack of viable training options. Nearly 1,400 miles away, Deb Braly, RN, a nurse educator in the surgery department of San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center in…

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Immersed in texts, apps, QR codes, and streaming videos, we live in a digital world. And yet, healthcare has been slow to catch up. Most nurses and other staff still hand out packets of paper and relay information verbally, whether in person or over the phone. It does not have…

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Takeaways • Although the central tenets of value-based healthcare have not changed, in many cases implementation has been reduced to little more than reducing costs, to the detriment of clinicians and patients. • The right incentives, such as recognition and work support, can effectively inspire clinicians to deliver high value…

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Takeaways • Interdepartmental collaboration and standardized communication are essential to quickly identifying and addressing supply chain challenges. • Just-in-time inventory strategies have gained traction since the pandemic. Successful strategies involve leveraging data, rethinking preference card management, and shifting to a demand-planning model. • Resiliency is essential to cope with the…

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