Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 23 updated its Safety Communication on the November 2015 recall of Custom Ultrasonics automated endoscope reprocessors. The update recommends that healthcare facilities transition to alternative methods to reprocess flexible endoscopes as soon as possible. In November, the FDA cited violations…

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Editor's Note The Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (SGNA) has released two new standards focused on infection prevention. The revised “Standards of Infection Prevention in Reprocessing of Flexible Gastrointestinal Endoscopes” details nine steps for successful reprocessing. The previous standard had eight steps—visual inspection used to be included with manual…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers from Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut, calculated a risk-adjusted outcomes measure of outpatient colonoscopy, which shows important variation in quality among outpatient facilities. The outcomes measure profiles outpatient facility quality by examining rates of unplanned hospital visits in the 7 days after colonoscopy.…

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How can OR managers better prepare staff to handle crisis situations? How can they encourage teamwork? Increasingly, OR leaders are turning to simulation to answer those questions.   OR leaders who think they can’t afford a high-fidelity manikin (one that talks and exhibits physiologic changes) and state-of-the-art simulation lab might…

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Part 1 of this two-part series, published in the January issue of OR Manager, discussed the concepts of professional peer review (PPR). In this article, experts from University Medical Center (UMC) in Lubbock, Texas, and Boston Medical Center share strategies for implementing the process.   Staff involvement Once staff understand…

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OR Manager and ECRI Institute have joined in a collaboration to bring OR Manager readers periodic articles on topics such as medical technology management and procurement, risk management, and patient safety. ECRI Institute is an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care.   Every year, hospitals…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  on January 15 cleared the Olympus TJF-Q180V duodenoscope with design and label modifications intended to reduce the risk of bacterial infections. The new design of the elevator channel sealing mechanism creates a tighter seal and reduces the potential for leakage of fluids…

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Editor's Note Overall US spending on healthcare grew 5.3%, and per-capita spending grew 4.5% in 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid reports. The share of gross domestic product allotted to healthcare spending was 17.5%, up from 17.3% in 2013. The increase in spending was primarily driven by coverage expansion…

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Editor's Note Inadequate cleaning of flexible endoscopes is first on the ECRI Institute’s annual Top 10 Health Technology Hazards list for 2016. Failure to effectively monitor postoperative patients for opioid-induced respiratory depression is third, and insufficient training of clinicians on OR technologies is fifth. ECRI Institute releases the Top 10…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on October 5 ordered three manufacturers of duodenoscopes marketed in the US to study the reprocessing of their devices in the clinical setting where they are used. The three manufacturers—Olympus America, Inc; Fujifilm Medical Systems, USA, Inc; and Hoya Corp (Pentax Life Care…

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