Preventing retained surgical item: What role does technology play?
A patient needs major surgery to remove 5 laparotomy sponges left behind during a previous case. The investigation finds that during an exploratory laparotomy, the circulating nurse introduced a 5-pack of sponges into the sterile field but did not enter the count on the worksheet or white board. Relief staff…
Heavy instrument sets shed pounds
Narance, right, reviews the inventory list for a reorganized set with employee Eric Johnson. Amajor orthopedic case can take 30 instrument trays, some weighing as much as 40 pounds. A Bookwalter retractor alone is over 25 pounds. Hysterectomy sets can top 30 pounds. Day after day, OR and central service…
Counts off in 1 in 8 general surgery cases
Surgical count discrepancies occur surprisingly often, in about 1 in 8 general surgery cases in a new study. The counts took an average of 13 minutes to resolve. In 60% of cases, the discrepancy was a misplaced item, such as a sponge on the floor or in the trash. The…
Benchmarking GI endoscope data
With the attention focused on best practices, evidence-based care, and similar measurements, it is no surprise that the endoscope care questions I'm asked most often revolve around my experiences with other hospitals, endoscopy centers, and office endoscopy practices. What is the average age of GI scopes at other facilities? Is…
Is it time to add instrument tracking?
ORs probably have as much money tied up in their instrument inventory as in surgical supplies, from $1 million to $5 million. Yet automation for instrument tracking is much less common than other materials management technologies. (See related article.) The need for keeping track of your instrument dollars is "similar…
New weight limit for instrument sets
Anew standard for the first time sets a weight limit of 25 pounds for rigid sterilization containers and their contents. In recent years, orthopedic and neurosurgery loaner sets, in particular, have gotten bigger and heavier, causing strain for the staff. There are also concerns about whether these big sets can…
A quest for a perfect OR inventory
Top: Steve Stout, OR business manager, and his staff reorganized the $1.5 million inventory of orthopedic plates and screws. Bottom: Have-available bins provide for just-in-case supplies. Aperfect OR inventory—that's the goal of the OR business management staff at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colo. They've come a long way.…
Number of retained objects falls after count practices reinforced
The number of items unintentionally left behind after surgery remained at zero for the second full year after counting practices were reinforced at the University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC) in Minneapolis. In contrast, 8 such incidents were reported in the year and a half before the project. In Minnesota,…
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