Editor's Note The OR Business Management Conference has seen steady growth in both attendance and exhibits from its humble beginning as a workshop to its current position as the premier educational and networking opportunity for OR surgical services leaders and business managers. Past attendees have praised the conference for its…

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Editor's Note The inaugural Best in OR Business Award will be presented at the 2017 OR Business Management Conference on Wednesday, February 1, to Victoria Stewart, MBA, director, business operations, perioperative services, at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. The award recognizes an individual who makes complex logistical decisions,…

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Editor's Note Whatever the nomenclature may be—preference cards, procedure cards, or pick lists—chances are, your department leaders would like to see them winnowed down. On Tuesday, January 31, OR Business Management Conference attendees will have an opportunity to learn from several individuals who have tamed this beast. Eliminating redundancy and…

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Editor's Note Attendees at the 2017 OR Business Management Conference in New Orleans can hit the ground running with a preconference workshop, “Perioperative Resource Optimization,” on Monday, January 30. Leaders from Mercy Hospital will share their experience in process improvement initiatives that have dramatically reduced costs, increased efficiencies, and engaged…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and care providers lack the predictive models needed to assess risks for readmission after joint replacements, finds this study. Researchers tested the applicability of the Carlson Comorbidity Index, Elixhauser Comorbidity Index, and CMS Hierarchical Condition Category to see whether any…

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Editor's Note Nerve blocks in total knee patients were associated with statistically significant reductions in length of stay and readmissions, but no difference in emergency department visits or in-hospital falls, this Canadian study finds. In the analysis of 178,214 patients, adjusted: mean hospital stay was 4.7 days for patients with…

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Editor's Note In its process for issuing a new recommendation on screening for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in asymptomatic adults or adults with unrecognized symptoms, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) found insufficient evidence on screening for or treatment of OSA. The USPSTF concluded that the current evidence is…

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Editor's Note Children having tonsillectomies to improve the number of sore throats and throat infections, associated clinic visits, and days of school missed had improved outcomes in the first year after surgery compared with children not having surgery, but these benefits did not persist over time, this study finds. For…

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Editor's Note Despite the Affordable Care Act, which was designed to improve access to care for patients without insurance, patients without insurance have lower use of high-quality hospitals, this study finds. The probability of admission to high-quality hospitals was similar for patients with Medicaid (23.3%) and private insurance (23.0%), but…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 25 announced the recall by Hospira, Inc (Lake Forest, Illinois) of one lot of Vancomycin Hydrochloride for Injection, (USP (NDC: 0409-6510-01, Lot 591053A, Expiry Date 1NOV2017). The recall was initiated because of a confirmed customer report of the presence of…

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