Plan B: Managing surgical equipment failure
With safety and quality now tied to reimbursement as part of value-based purchasing (VBP), hospitals must meet benchmarks for patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, and readmissions to avoid financial penalties imposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The VBP program added the Patient Safety Indicator, or PSI 90, metric…
IUSS drops to 5% with team intervention
Reducing immediate use steam sterilization (IUSS) can be challenging, but adhering to standards is essential not only for patient safety, but also for successful accreditation surveys. “Accrediting organizations are hitting hard on all of sterilization, but especially IUSS,” says Rose Seavey, MBA, BA, RN, CNOR, CRCST, CSPDT, president and CEO…
ERAS shown to improve outcomes
Editor's Note In this review article, researchers conclude that implementation of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) programs results in major improvements in clinical outcomes and cost savings, which makes ERAS an important example of value-based care applied to surgery. ERAS practices include: changes from overnight fasting to carbohydrate drinks 2…
MRSA infections down 30% at VA hospitals
Editor's Note Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) healthcare-associated infection (HAI) rates have declined significantly over 8 years with the Veterans Affairs MRSA Prevention Initiative, this study finds. Between 2007 and 2015, MRSA HAI rates fell: 87% in ICUs 80.1% in non-ICUs 80.9% in spinal cord injury units 49.4% in long-term care.…
ECRI Institute releases annual C-suite watch list
Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on January 9 released its 2017 Top 10 Hospital C-Suite Watch List. The list includes both technologies and critical technology use issues that hospital leaders should be aware of. Included in the list are: an initiative to improve outcomes and costs of abdominal surgery hospital…
Ambulatory surgery PSH program linked to better outcomes
Editor's Note Introduction of the Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) model for patients having ambulatory laparoscopic cholecystectomy at a Kaiser Permanente facility was associated with decreased length of stay and unplanned hospital admissions in this study. A total of 878 patients were included in the preimplementation period, and 1,082 in the…
Cardiac surgeon’s invention reduces pressure ulcers, LOS
Editor's Note A device invented by Rafael Squitieri, MD, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at St Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut, reduced pressure ulcers and length of stay in studies, the December 24, 2016, Connecticut Post reports. The device, called “TurnCare,” is a mat that is placed under patients and…
Colorectal SSIs plummet with evidence-based care bundles
Surgical site infections (SSIs) not only harm patients, but also can squeeze a hospital’s bottom line through increased costs and reduced reimbursement. Patients undergoing colorectal surgery are particularly at risk for SSIs, according to data from the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), but an effective multidisciplinary team and an evidence-based…
SSIs fall sharply with team-based protocol changes
Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a major cause of morbidity in surgical patients, leading to increased length of stay and healthcare costs. No single intervention has demonstrated efficacy in reducing SSIs. When SSIs rose to a rate of 16.3% in 2013 at St Elizabeth Boardman Hospital in Boardman, Ohio, perioperative…
Surgical receipt raises quality standards, lowers costs
Increasing costs and shrinking margins have continued to pressure business managers and senior hospital leadership to rethink strategies for raising surgeons’ awareness of product and nonlabor costs within the OR. Often providers are asked to cut costs but are unaware of the actual costs of the products they use. In…
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