Editor's Note This study finds that robotic surgery increased dramatically from 2012 to 2018 and has diffused widely across a broad range of common procedures. This trend was associated with a decrease in the use of open and laparoscopic minimally invasive procedures. In this analysis of 169,404 patients in 73…

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Surgeons often are eager to acquire the newest technology, particularly right after attending a conference with a vendor-packed exhibit hall. How can OR leaders weigh surgeon demands with organizational cost constraints to ensure they meet patient needs while being fiscally responsible? The first step is to acknowledge the complexity of…

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Nonprofit hospitals and health systems got a vote of confidence in December 2019 when Moody’s Investors Service revised its 2020 outlook from negative to stable. The report projected an increase in operating cash flows by 2% to 3%. Moody’s says increased reimbursements and higher patient volumes will boost revenue. But…

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The Best in OR Business Award is presented annually at the OR Business Management Conference to recognize an outstanding leader who has saved on costs, increased OR utilization, improved patient safety, or otherwise streamlined the surgical services department. The 2020 award will be presented to Vikram Tiwari, PhD, associate professor…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on December 19, 2019, identified the recall by Smiths Medical ASD, Inc of its Medfusion 4000 Syringe Pumps as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of malfunctioning low-battery alarms, which may lead to an interruption of therapy. The…

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Editor's Note Researchers at NYU Langone Health combined advanced optical imaging with an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to produce accurate, real-time intraoperative diagnosis of brain tumors in this study. Compared with the accuracy of pathologists’ interpretation of conventional histologic images, the results for both methods were comparable. The AI-based diagnosis…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on January 2 identified the recall by LivaNova of its VNS Therapy SenTiva Generator System as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of an unintended reset error that causes the system to stop delivering vagus nerve stimulation therapy…

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Editor's Note Johnson & Johnson’s Depuy Synthes and Israel-based Zebra Medical Vision have partnered to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithms for use in preoperative orthopedic surgical planning, the January 2 BioWorld reports. The algorithms would enable the creation of 3D models from x-ray images so that radiation risks and costs…

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Editor's Note In this first-year analysis of a data capture system called the OR Black Box, frequent intraoperative errors, events, variation in surgeons’ technical skills, and a high amount of environmental distractions were identified. In 132 patients having elective laparoscopic general surgery: auditory distractions occurred a median of 138 times…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on December 30 announced a public workshop on the “Evolving Role of Artificial Intelligence [AI] in Radiological Imaging, which will take place February 25-26, 2020, at the Natcher Conference Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. The workshop will include discussions on…

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