Finding ways to meet Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements is a challenge all healthcare leaders are facing, regardless of the type of facility they manage. That challenge includes shifting to a value-based payment system and helping staff and physicians adapt to the sometimes bewildering array of new rules. Kent Bottles,…

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Although limiting OR traffic can help reduce surgical site infections (SSIs), doing so can be a challenge in a busy OR. Two hospitals recently completed projects that successfully reduced traffic. At the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) in Iowa City, a guideline for limiting door openings significantly reduced…

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What can you do when you need to store about 9,000 sq ft of equipment in just 7,000 sq ft of storage space? What if your OR supplies are housed in such cluttered, disorganized drawers that staff have difficulty finding things? Unleash the Lean teams, of course. At the University…

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Computers and computer-driven devices have transformed the way healthcare is delivered, and use of the technology has led to greater efficiency, error reduction, and the ability to perform some previously impossible procedures. However, it is not always easy to incorporate computer tools into traditional activities such as quality tracking and…

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will delay implementation of the new quality reporting measure ASC-11, Cataracts: Improvement in Patient’s Visual Function within 90 Days Following Cataract Surgery, until January 1, 2015. CMS intends to issue proposals regarding data collection for this measure in the upcoming 2015 proposed…

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Tim Porter-O’Grady, DM, EdD, ScD(h), APRN, FAAN, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s OR Manager Conference, which takes place September 17-19 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California. The conference features 4 tracks—ambulatory surgery centers, business management, a masters series, and new manager—designed to address…

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Putting a hold on the OR can lead to revenue losses no manager wants to see. At Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) in Allentown, Pennsylvania, OR holds were averaging 1,100 minutes per month. Jodi Koch, BSN, RN, director of perioperative services, and Kathleen Duckworth, RN, CPAN, their colleagues got holds…

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Improvements in first case on-time starts and turnover time at Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, attest to the success of using Lean strategies. Within an 8-month period, first-case on-time starts (FCOTS) jumped from 35% to 72%, and the monthly average overall turnover time (TOT) for a 7-month period was…

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Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are asking the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reconsider the next round of quality measures contained in the Calendar Year 2014 Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Proposed Rule and to revisit the payment update formula.   Quality Collaboration: Revise measures In a memorandum to…

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Fourth in a series on ten elements of safer surgery.   It’s axiomatic that sterile processing is critical to safe and effective surgical care. The sterile processing department (SPD) is like an “engine room” for the OR, where the staff produce the sterile instruments and other equipment needed for surgical…

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