Tag: Quality Improvement

Association of postop MI with high mortality rates after vascular surgery

Editor's Note Despite high rates of patients discharged with cardioprotective medications, the long-term burden of postoperative myocardial infarction (MI) after major vascular surgery is substantial, with a high mortality rate in the following year, this study finds. Of 26,231 vascular surgery patients analyzed, factors linked to an increased risk of postoperative…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
December 9, 2019
Share

Bariatric surgery improves the heart

Editor's Note Bariatric surgery provides more benefits for obese patients than weight loss; it also reverses subclinical heart dysfunction, finds this study presented December 5 at EuroEcho 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Vienna, Austria. The study included 38 obese patients who had bariatric surgery…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
December 5, 2019
Share

Patient, personnel, induction factors that affect OR start times

Editor's Note Though patient and personnel factors affect the order of case induction, induction time is most dependent on patient factors, this study finds. Of 15,823 cases analyzed, predictors of later patient induction included add-on case, ASA class 3 or more, neuraxial anesthesia, and CRNA staffing. In 11,093 (70.1%) cases,…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
December 5, 2019
Share

AI algorithms predict mortality after traumatic brain injury

Editor's Note Two artificial intelligence-based algorithms predicted the probability of a patient dying in the ICU within 30 days of traumatic brain injury with accuracies up to 81% and 84%, in this study from Finland. The first algorithm is based on objective monitor data, and the second one includes data…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
December 3, 2019
Share

Data-use practices linked to successful implementation of ERPs

Editor's Note In this study, the most important data-use practice associated with successful implementation of enhanced recovery pathways (ERPs) was data feedback to frontline providers of process and outcome measures. Of 140 hospitals analyzed, 52% reported previous ERP implementation, with wide variations in data-use practices. Feedback of process and outcome…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
December 2, 2019
Share

Hospital-based care coordination strategies linked to CMS star ratings

Editor's Note Care coordination strategies were found to be associated with high overall hospital quality star ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in this study. A total of 710 general acute care noncritical access hospitals that received star ratings and responded to the 2015 American Hospital…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
November 21, 2019
Share

AI evaluation of ECGs predicts irregular heart rhythm, death risk

Editor's Note Artificial intelligence (AI) was able to predict which patients were likely to develop an irregular heart rhythm, even when physicians interpreted results as normal, and identified patients at increased risk of dying of any cause within 1 year, in this study presented November 16 at the American Heart…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
November 18, 2019
Share

Daily Tiered Huddles help prioritize and resolve OR problems

When you have a problem, are you empowered to solve it? What happens when staff encounter an obstacle? Cleveland Clinic’s Tiered Huddle process empowers all caregivers to see problems and tackle issues on their own or escalate them for assistance. The tiered huddles have energized teams to work across the…

Read More

By: Judith M. Mathias, MA, RN
November 18, 2019
Share

Establishing quality standards for ERAS care elements

At Virginia Commonwealth University System (VCU Health) in Richmond, we are using quality standards to establish operational definitions for elements of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS). This article describes what those standards are and how they are implemented. Previous articles in this series appeared in the October 2019 and November…

Read More

By: OR Manager
November 18, 2019
Share

Analysis of OR efficiency in ASCs vs hospital outpatient departments

Editor's Note Ambulatory surgery center (ASC) outpatient procedures were more efficiently performed than those performed at a hospital outpatient department (HOP) in this study. Of 220 procedures included in the study (114 ASC, 106 HOP): mean turnover time was 29.8 minutes for HOP vs 24.5 for ASC ancillary time was…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
November 12, 2019
Share

Join our community

Learn More
Video Spotlight
Live chat by BoldChat