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December 2011 See the full issue

What’s needed for reprocessing, storage of laryngoscope blades?

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 An occasional column on Joint Commission issues. The reprocessing and storage of laryngoscope blades has been a hot button for Joint Commission surveyors, and OR managers have been asking how they can comply with the expectations. In answer, the Joint Commission on…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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Surgery, supply chain teams forge stronger link

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 Take the right people and add the right software and the right processes. The result: an end-to-end surgical supply and inventory management system built on trust that yields useful data for decision making. In 2010, its first year, the team at the…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 Slower walking in elderly patients may signal a higher risk of postop complications and longer stays, finds a study presented at the American College of Surgeons meeting in October 2011. Surgical patients 65 and older were given a preop walking test: standing…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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Publisher’s Note

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 Santa dragged his lawn chair out to a sunny patch to sort through his bag of holiday gifts. With global warming, he is able to relax in shorts and a tank top instead of his traditional bulky red suit. He checked his…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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Proposed CoP reg to expand use of nonphysicians

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 Medicare is proposing a major overhaul to its conditions of participation (CoP) that would give hospitals wider latitude in the use of practitioners such as advanced practice RNs (APRNs) and physician assistants (PA). The rule would also expand use of standing orders…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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Physician-preference items a cause of Medicare shortfalls

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 An analysis of 12 orthopedic and cardiac surgery categories by Premier finds 323 hospitals losing $1.82 billion annually because of Medicare payment shortfalls. Medicare reimbursement rates, lack of outcomes evidence, and costs of physician preference items (PPIs) are the main reasons. Hospitals…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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OR Manager Subject Index 2011, volume 27

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 ACCREDITATION Accreditation accountability, Mar: 6 CMS anesthesia guidelines, Apr: 23 Reprocessing laryngoscope blades,Dec: 15 Top performers listed, Nov: 24 ALLOGRAFTS Bone allografts, part 5, Feb: 20 Bone allografts: part 4, Jan: 15 Practical guide, Mar: Supplement Questions for suppliers, Jan: 16 AMBULATORY…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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OR business managers to participate in workshop

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 As surgical suites face decreasing reimbursement, OR business managers are looking to increase their knowledge of OR processes and to improve their critical financial skills. OR business managers are invited to participate in the first workshop designed specifically for their professional interests.…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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Medicare 2012 outpatient rule adds surgical quality measures

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 Hospital outpatient departments will have to use a surgical safety checklist during 2012 to receive their full Medicare payment update in 2014—even though they don’t have to report the checklist’s use until 2013. Related article, p 20. That’s one of 2 new…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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Hospitals prepare for SSI reporting as part of trend toward transparency

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 Do you know your hospital’s surgical site infection (SSI) rate for colon surgery and abdominal hysterectomy? Hospitals must start reporting their SSI rates for these 2 procedures on January 1, 2012, to receive their full Medicare payment update in 2014. The list…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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Cost management for ORs moves from minor to the major leagues

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 If your household had to cut expenses by 7% to 8% and then hold the line for 10 years, how would you adjust? That’s the situation hospitals face as they cope with cuts in Medicare and Medicaid payments and rising numbers of…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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CMS overturns its rule on advance patient notice

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 In a sudden and welcome move, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) has not merely relaxed its rule on informing patients of their rights in advance of surgery; it has overturned it. On October 7, 2011, Health and Human Services…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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Changing behavior to boost OR’s productivity

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 Making inroads on on-time first-case starts and turnover time means process changes, of course. But changes won’t take root without a change in behavior. Cincinnati-based Tri-Health attributes the progress it has made to improved accountability by all levels of personnel, from front-line…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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ASCs get pay hike, reprieve on quality reporting

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 On November 1, 2011, in posting the final 2012 outpatient payment rule, Medicare gave the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry a reprieve in its quality reporting deadline and an unexpected pay hike. While industry experts are pleased with what they see as…

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By: OR Manager
December 1, 2011
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