Most OR leaders believe the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist can help prevent surgical errors and complications. But although many hospitals have formally adopted the WHO checklist, fewer ORs use it consistently. At Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital, a nonprofit teaching facility south of Boston, we addressed this issue…
Editor's Note Healthcare managers’ top priority needs to focus on work environment design to improve preoperative throughput and OR first-case on time starts, this study finds. Two main barriers were identified−lack of equipment and availability of equipment in the preoperative area. Four vital sign monitors with wheels were purchased, as were…
Editor's Note Hospitals managing the highest volume of deceased organ donors were 52% more likely to recover an above-average number of transplantable organs per donor than low-volume hospitals in this study. The study included data from 4,427 donors across 384 hospitals. High-volume hospitals had an organ yield (ie, rate of…
Editor's Note Implementation of Lean system redesigns was associated with a significant and sustained wait list reduction from 33.4 days to 12.0 days for patients waiting for elective general surgery procedures at a Veterans Affairs medical center, this study finds. The study covered FY 2012 to 2014. At the same…
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…
Editor's Note Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) and fast track surgery protocols were associated with a significant reduction in postoperative lung, urinary tract, and surgical site infections, compared with conventional protocols in this study. ERAS and fast track protocols also were linked to a significant decrease in hospital length of…
Like a football team gathering to confirm tactical details before a play, surgical staff often form a huddle to ensure readiness of the providers, patient, and equipment for the upcoming procedure. In a twist on the traditional huddle the day before surgery, staff at the Hospital of Central Connecticut (HOCC)…
Editor's Note Assigning certain anesthesiologists to specific surgeons affected team performance and turnaround time in this study. Researchers assessed the relationship between turnaround times and assignment of anesthesiologists to surgeons using a Monte Carlo simulation. They constructed managerial decision tables for the assignments, and defined a decision algorithm based on…
Editor's Note Overlapping surgical procedures are safe and provide the same outcomes for patients as non-overlapping procedures, this study finds. The analysis of 10,614 overlapping surgical procedures performed at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, found no difference in the rates of postoperative complications or deaths within a month after surgery,…
Editor's Note This study finds that general surgery residents strongly prefer work hour policies that allow them the flexibility to work longer hours when needed to provide patient care over the standard, more restrictive work schedules required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The preference for flexibility becomes…
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