Efficient health information exchange could significantly lower costs
Editor's Note Including a health information exchange query into emergency department patient care could significantly reduce the number of tests ordered and reduce costs, finds this study. Efficient health information exchange was associated with a 52% reduction in lab tests and a 36% reduction in radiology exams per patient ordered…
Analytics: A powerful tool for OR process improvements
Analytics is a buzzword in today’s healthcare world, but behind the buzz is a very real tool. If used appropriately, analytics can help OR managers achieve improvements in stubborn problems such as turnover time. But OR leaders must first understand analytics principles before applying them in their management practice. Analytics…
Having more reliable performance data will boost your credibility
Most OR leaders use performance reports to inform and guide critical decisions. The problem is that in most hospitals, the data used to create these reports are not reliable. Why? Even the smallest surgery department is too complex for the most sophisticated OR data solution. To yield reliable reports, information…
Phone calls go away with a low-cost tracking system
Preparing patients for surgery at Cullman Regional Medical Center in Cullman, Alabama, used to take about 200 phone calls a day. Here’s a typical scenario: The OR is ready for the next patient. The OR calls the same-day surgery unit and asks if the patient is ready. Same-day surgery says…
Anesthesia systems catching on as liability concerns start to ease
Anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) have been slow to catch on, but the pace is accelerating. More than one-fourth (26%) of organizations with OR information systems now have an AIMS, up from 6% in 2007. And 63% of those that currently have only an OR system plan to purchase an…
How could ORs benefit from the government's health IT funds?
The federal government is providing $19 billion in grants and loans for health information technology (IT). Will ORs be able to capture some of the funding to improve their systems? The funding comes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama in February 2009. Financial incentives will…
Automated inventory frees up nurses
With a swipe of a barcode, a perioperative nurse documents supply use in the patient's record, helps create an accurate patient bill, and starts the process to reorder the product. Kaleida Health, a 5-hospital network serving western New York State, has pulled off what many organizations strive for, an integrated…
Upgrading software? Developing the RFP
Selecting the right software for your perioperative services department is one of the most important decisions a manager makes. The software used to manage perioperative services is critical because the OR drives the hospital's inpatient capacity as well as the revenue and margin. The software must enable the OR manager…
Firm provides independent ratings on OR info systems
If you're selecting or upgrading a perioperative information system, you might like to ask your peers what they think of their systems. If they could start over, which system would they choose? Which vendor is the strongest for documentation? Materials management? How do companies rate on integration? KLAS Enterprises provides…
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