David Shapiro, MD, who is a risk manager/medical director at several ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) near Tallahassee, Florida, has seen his fair share of contracts with anesthesia services. Navigating these types of contracts at a time when anesthesiology is suffering from a workforce shortage and high costs for services is…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut, finds that many patients have unplanned hospital visits within 7 days of outpatient surgical procedures performed in hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs), often for potentially preventable reasons. The analysis included 1,135,441 outpatient surgical procedures performed at…

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Today’s chat is with Tracy Hoeft-Hoffman, MSN, MBA, RN, CASC, Administrator, Heartland Surgery Center, Kearney, Nebraska. Q: What is something that went right at your facility and/or that you are thankful for this year? What has gone right this year and makes our center so successful every year is the…

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Editor's Note Reducing noise in the OR positively affects children’s postoperative behavior, according to research presented October 24 at the Anesthesiology 2022 annual meeting in New Orleans. The study, led by researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, included 64 preschool children (ages 4 to 5 years old) having general…

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Editor's Note This Norwegian study finds a lower risk of colorectal cancer at 10 years in those who had screening colonoscopy, compared to those with no screening. Of 84,585 participants, 28,220 were invited to have a single screening colonoscopy (11,843 underwent screening), and 56,365 were in the usual care group.…

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Editor's Note The last day of the OR Manager Conference saw perhaps its most inventive breakout session yet. The ambulatory surgery center (ASC) leadership roundtable panel led attendees through an education-filled hour marked by games, interaction, and trivia. “Technology is the way of the future, it is here, and we…

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Editor's Note Only 26 states require the reporting of surgical site infections (SSIs) to either the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) or the state, Lisa Berus, MSN, MEd, RN, CAIP, CNAMB, CASSPT, senior director at SCA Health, explained in this two-part breakout session.…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) on October 11 issued comments on a European study examining colonoscopies that was published October 9 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study, which looked at colonoscopies in Sweden, Poland, Norway, and the Netherlands, seemed to question the effectiveness of…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, finds that it may be reasonable to consider performing cataract surgery without routine anesthesia support. Medicare claims for 36,652 patients who had cataract surgery were analyzed. Among the findings: 89.8% had an anesthesia provider, compared to…

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Compensation has remained relatively flat for leaders in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), according to the 2022 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey, even as leaders face ongoing stressors. This is reflected in the 40% of respondents who reported a total current annual compensation of $120,000 or more—unchanged from 2021. Ongoing stress is…

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