OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 11; November 2011 For the first time, the Joint Commission has named the top performing hospitals on its key quality measures. On the list are 405 hospitals (about 14% of those accredited) that met 2 criteria for 2010: 95% or higher performance on a composite…

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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 11; November 2011 The first nationwide system for collecting adverse events from anesthesia, pain management, and perioperative care has been set up by the Anesthesia Quality Institute. The intent of the Anesthesia Incident Reporting System (AIRS) is to collect information to help improve patient safety.…

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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 11; November 2011 Older patients drove more safely than younger ones after ambulatory surgery, finds a study presented at the 2011 American Society of Anesthesiologists meeting in October in Chicago. With ambulatory surgery becoming more common and increased use of short-acting anesthetics, “our team recognized…

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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 11; November 2011 A record-breaking number of OR directors, managers, and business managers converged at the Hyatt Regency Chicago for the 24th Annual Managing Today’s OR Suite conference September 28 to 30, 2011. The 1,029 attendees heard information-packed programs, viewed innovative posters, networked with colleagues,…

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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 11; November 2011 Over half of teaching hospitals (52%) and larger surgical departments with 10 or more ORs (56%) now have OR business managers, according to the 2011 OR Manager Salary/Career survey. The position has become increasingly common over the past decade to meet the…

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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 11; November 2011 The Christiana SurgiCenter, a 7-OR ambulatory surgery center (ASC) was losing volume. Although its ORs were staffed 8 hours a day, surgeons were saying they couldn’t get their cases scheduled. The problem turned out to be the block schedule. It was like…

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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 11; November 2011 The message coming out of Washington is clear: Do more with less. Under Medicare’s hospital inpatient value-based purchasing (VBP) program launched July 1, 2011, DRG payments will be tied to performance on quality and patient satisfaction metrics. This is part of the…

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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 11; November 2011 A new model for performing regional peripheral nerve blocks in the preoperative holding area with RN assistance has been a big win for Stony Brook University Medical Center Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) in Stony Brook, New York. The model has allowed orthopedic…

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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 11; November 2011 Quantity of Evidence Base (Low) The evidence base consists of a single controlled study of spinal fusion that compared the accuracy of pedicle screw placement in a patient group that had two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) intraoperative imaging using the O-arm System…

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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 10; October 2011 Stiff economic headwinds are challenging ambulatory surgery centers (ASC). Among them are stubbornly high unemployment, higher copays and deductibles, and fewer independent physicians. After strong growth, the number of new ASCs opening is nearly zero for 2011. Brian Mathis, vice president of…

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