Since the days of the first rudimentary radiographs, radiation safety has been a concern in the OR, but that concern has risen as the number of hybrid ORs and procedures with imaging has risen. “The level of image guidance in the OR, whether it’s radiographic or fluoroscopy, has become highly…

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With hospitals under ever greater economic pressure, perioperative managers are expected to hew closely to staffing productivity targets, meaning they must match staffing as closely as possible to the hours of surgery actually performed. They’re also expected to grow surgical volume. Hospitals’ revenue depends on it. To grow volume, ORs…

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Hospitals are facing stiff economic winds. They are challenged by shrinking reimbursement from Medicare and Medicare, even as more patients will be covered by these publicly funded programs. Perioperative managers and directors are under pressure to make the most of their department’s resources. You’re being asked to measure every aspect…

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Technology is starting to take its place as a supplement to manual counts in the effort to prevent retained surgical items (RSIs). RSIs persist despite the emphasis many ORs have placed on tightening their manual counting methods. Recent reports from California are an example of the challenge ORs are up…

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Three elective surgical procedures saw declines in early 2009 for a group of facilities participating in the OR Benchmarks Collaborative. Hernia repair and total hip and total knee replacement volumes were down in January through July compared with the same period the year before. Declines were: Hernia repair: minus 7%…

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