Tag: Patient Safety

Can your hospital survive the growing dominance of ASCs?

Of the approximately 57 million surgical procedures performed annually in the US, it is estimated that hospital inpatient procedures (overnight admissions) account for less than 20% of cases. Many procedures once performed in hospital outpatient surgery departments (HOPDs) have moved to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) over the past 15 years,…

Read More

By: Thomas A. Blasco, MD, MS
January 13, 2020
Share

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…

Read More

By: Judith M. Mathias, MA, RN
January 13, 2020
Share

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…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
January 9, 2020
Share

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…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
January 9, 2020
Share

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…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
January 7, 2020
Share

FDA: Class I recall of Medfusion 4000 Syringe Pumps

Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on December 19, 2019, identified the recall by Smiths Medical ASD, Inc of its Medfusion 4000 Syringe Pumps as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of malfunctioning low-battery alarms, which may lead to an interruption of therapy. The…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
January 7, 2020
Share

Laser-based imaging system, AI algorithm accurately identify brain tumors

Editor's Note Researchers at NYU Langone Health combined advanced optical imaging with an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to produce accurate, real-time intraoperative diagnosis of brain tumors in this study. Compared with the accuracy of pathologists’ interpretation of conventional histologic images, the results for both methods were comparable. The AI-based diagnosis…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
January 7, 2020
Share

First-year analysis of OR Black Box study

Editor's Note In this first-year analysis of a data capture system called the OR Black Box, frequent intraoperative errors, events, variation in surgeons’ technical skills, and a high amount of environmental distractions were identified. In 132 patients having elective laparoscopic general surgery: auditory distractions occurred a median of 138 times…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
January 2, 2020
Share

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…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
December 18, 2019
Share

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…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
December 18, 2019
Share

Join our community

Learn More
Video Spotlight
Live chat by BoldChat