Home Issues OR Manager

A scorecard for sterile processing metrics

How does your sterile processing department (SPD) know it's on track? At MedCentral Health System, based in Mansfield, Ohio, managers and staff track performance with a color-coded scorecard. The scorecard is built around 5 pillars, which reflect the health system's mission: quality customer service innovation teamwork finance. The pillars are…

Read More

By: OR Manager
July 1, 2008
Share

How can an OR be like the Ritz-Carlton?

What do a Ritz-Carlton hotel and a hospital or ambulatory surgery center have in common? At first glance, you might say very little. After all, the glamor and glitz of a Ritz-Carlton hotel seem miles away from the plain and functional OR. But dig a little deeper and you'll uncover…

Read More

By: Cynthia Saver, RN, MS
July 1, 2008
Share

Is your OR's governing structure up to today's intense demands?

Everyone wants the OR to run smoothly—on-time starts, few delays, a well-managed schedule, and buy-in on quality and safety projects. To make it happen takes strong leadership and collaboration. The traditional OR committee may not be up to the task. Too often, it becomes a complaint forum, with the OR…

Read More

By: Pat Patterson
July 1, 2008
Share

OR business conference in San Francisco

Attending conferences is all about building bridges to transfer ideas from the conference into clinical practice. That's why San Francisco, the city with the Golden Gate Bridge, was a fitting site for the 2008 OR Business Management Conference, a meeting filled with ideas for OR leaders. The 300 attendees chose…

Read More

By: Cynthia Saver, RN, MS
July 1, 2008
Share

McSleepy: New automated anesthesia system gives drugs, monitors patient

The McSleepy system thinks like an anesthesiologist. It may be available commercially in about five years. Surgeons at McGill University in Montreal recently performed the world's first totally automated administration of anesthesia. The new system, nicknamed McSleepy, automatically administers drugs for general anesthesia and monitors their effects. "Think of McSleepy…

Read More

By: OR Manager
July 1, 2008
Share

From job description to goal setting

Second article in a series on performance management. Elements of performance management Job description Initial competencies Orientation Goal setting/ performance planning Competency assessment Coaching, mentoring, and recognition Performance evaluation Self-evaluation Peer evaluation Performance enhancement plan. This article builds on the first, published in the June OR Manager, which provided an…

Read More

By: OR Manager
July 1, 2008
Share

Creating a culture of retention for perioperative nursing staff

The best way to have a surgical facility that serves patients and employees well is to create and nurture a culture of retention, a veteran nurse and management consultant says. Keeping good nurses is the goal, and it requires a careful strategy. Interestingly, money is not the only—not even the…

Read More

By: Kate McGraw
July 1, 2008
Share

CMS demo: One payment to hospital, MDs

Medicare is starting an experiment that will give hospitals and physicians a single bundled payment for some inpatient cardiac and orthopedic surgery, including total joint replacement. The Acute Care Episode (ACE) demonstration project will be conducted in up to 15 markets in 4 states: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado.…

Read More

By: OR Manager
July 1, 2008
Share

Clinical ladder benefits staff, manager

As an OR manager, have you ever asked, "What will I be doing 5 years from now? Will I be doing the same thing I'm doing now?" Your staff may be asking themselves the same questions. No two days for an OR manager are the same. But can the staff…

Read More

By: OR Manager
July 1, 2008
Share

New Class 6 indicator monitors steam cycles

There's a new type of sterilization indicator on the block—the Class 6 emulating indicator. Steris recently received 510k clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to market the first Class 6 chemical indicators for steam sterilization in the US. The indicators are being sold under the brand name Verify SixCess.…

Read More

By: OR Manager
July 1, 2008
Share

Screening for more complex ASC patients

STOP screen for OSA A simple, validated tool to screen for obstructive sleep apnea has 4 questions: Patients who answer yes to 2 or more of the questions are ranked as being at high risk for OSA. Combined with other known risk factors for OSA, high BMI, age over 50,…

Read More

By: OR Manager
July 1, 2008
Share

Join our community

Learn More
Video Spotlight
Live chat by BoldChat