Advance preparation tends to waste many absorbable hemostatic agents
Results of a recent survey suggest that a great deal of unnecessary product waste could be avoided if OR nurses changed their approach to using absorbable hemostatic agents. The survey, administered electronically to 200 US registered nurses in late 2014, found that 62% of respondents prepared absorbable hemostatic agents before…
Medicare trust fund exhausted by 2030
Editor's Note A report from Medicare trustees on July 22 projects that the Medicare trust fund will be exhausted in 2030. The report also revealed that recipients of Social Security disability benefits could face steep cuts next year. The fund it expected to run out of money in 2016. Congress…
Help is available for managing pharmaceutical waste safely and legally
Like all healthcare facilities, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) generate medical waste. Some of that waste is well known to be hazardous, such as blood, tissue, or used needles and syringes. Another type of waste is leftover medication, which is subject to its own regulations and disposal practices. Compliance is a…
Managing the costs of explanted spine hardware
During spinal surgery, it is sometimes necessary to implant and then remove, or explant, instrumentation in the same procedure. Explantation occurs when an implanted plate or spacer does not fit, or implanted screws are too loose or too short. Explanted instrumentation cannot be reused and must be discarded, adding to…
Greener ORs: Keys to making the business case
Perioperative staff and managers face a variety of pressures: improving processes, enhancing patient outcomes, documenting savings, meeting regulations, and more, all in a time of tighter budgets. With so much to balance, it can be difficult to consider (much less sell to upper management) the idea of greening the operating…
Untangling pharmaceutical waste requirements
There’s general agreement that keeping unused pharmaceuticals out of the nation’s water supply is a good idea. But figuring out how to comply with the tangle of regulations governing unused pharmaceuticals isn’t easy. How intensely your facility is involved in managing pharmaceutical waste likely depends on how active US Environmental…
HVAC setback: Saving energy and reducing cost
Depending on your facility’s type and pattern of use, one or more of your ORs likely is not being used a majority of the time. Yet for most facilities, the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system operates continuously, providing air exchanges, humidity, and temperature control as if the OR were…
Going green in the OR brings financial, environmental gains
The OR generates more than 40% of a hospital's revenue and between 20% and 30% of its total waste volume, according to Practice Greenhealth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to environmental sustainability in health care. Given those numbers, it's no wonder that being environmentally friendly or "green" doesn't just benefit society—it…
Greening of the OR initiative is launched
The Greening of the OR, a national effort to reduce surgery's big environmental footprint, was launched in May 2010 by Practice Greenhealth. The 2-year-old nonprofit, claiming 1,000 hospital members, sees the OR as a major target for making health care more sustainable. "ORs are the largest waste generators in the…
ORs go green for staff, planet benefits
Boulder Community Foothills Hospital, Boulder, Colorado, emphasizes sustainability. The hospital is flooded with natural light, which saves on utilities and provides respite for patients and staff. OR managers who participate in the design of new or renovated OR suites have an opportunity to promote a healthy environment. But can hospitals…
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