Constancy: The key ingredient for safe patient care
When errors occur, sometimes with devastating consequences, healthcare leaders often perform a root cause analysis (RCA) to prevent a recurrence. Understanding what happened is an important step in the recovery process. It’s also important to realize the effect of a sentinel event on healthcare providers—those “second victims” who find themselves…
Opioid prescriptions drop after orthopedic team changes protocol
Can hospital leaders and surgeons partner to reduce opioid use while maintaining high patient satisfaction scores? Leaders at OSS Orthopaedic Hospital in York, Pennsylvania, answer that question with a yes. Meghan McNelly, PharmD, MHA, FACHE, who was director of pharmacy at OSS when the opioid-reduction project started, says that from…
First penis transplantation completed in the US
Editor's Note Surgeons at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, completed the first successful penis transplantation in the US in a patient who had a subtotal penectomy for penile cancer. Operative reinterventions were needed on postoperative days 2 and 3 for hematoma evacuation and skin eschar debridement. At 3 weeks, no…
NewYork-Presbyterian opens world-class center for ambulatory care
Editor's Note NewYork-Presbyterian on April 24 announced the opening of the David H. Koch Center, a world-class ambulatory care center that provides a seamless patient experience from diagnosis to treatment. The approximately 749,000 square foot facility includes services such as outpatient surgery, interventional radiology, diagnostic imaging, and infusion services as…
EHR capabilities influence patient satisfaction
Editor's Note A Black Book market survey found that 92% of patients younger than 40 expressed dissatisfaction if their providers did not offer them complete medical records, and 85% wanted more telehealth options, the April 23 Healthcare Informatics reports. A total of 88% of respondents blamed the hospital systems directly…
Patient optimization clinic creates a recipe for success
The government and insurance companies have imposed increasing penalties on healthcare facilities in recent years for readmissions. And with good reason: High readmission rates greatly increase costs and sometimes signal poor patient safety practices. In 2015, roughly 2 million patients were readmitted, costing Medicare $27 billion, according to the Centers…
OR leaders feel the pain of the opioid crisis
The OR isn’t exempt from the effects of the opioid crisis. Identifying patients taking opioids is part of OR clinicians’ responsibilities, and they also play an important role in preventing opioid addiction. “We have patients who have opioid use disorder [OUD] and neglect to tell us,” says Mary Jo Steiert,…
ECRI Institute PSO sheds light on opioid use in acute care
OR Manager, Inc., and ECRI Institute have joined in a collaboration to bring OR Manager readers periodic articles on topics such as medical technology management and procurement, risk management, and patient safety. ECRI Institute is an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care. Opioids are the…
What do 'patient first' care models look like?
Creating a positive patient experience creates patient satisfaction, which can affect reimbursement. But it’s not just business that calls many OR leaders to focus on patient experience. Having been a patient who has had surgery, it’s near and dear to my heart,” says Carol Pehotsky, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, ACNS-BC, CPAN,…
Innovative use for drug reduces postop nausea and vomiting
Editor's Note An innovative use for a known drug, amisulpride, is showing promise as an effective treatment for preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), finds this study. Amisulpride works by blocking dopamine signaling in the body. A total of 1,147 patients undergoing general anesthesia, who had three or four PONV…
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