Less than a year after adopting a “college structure” model akin to that of specialty teams, the UF & Shands Academic Health Center in Gainesville, Florida, is close to achieving a goal of 100% on-time starts. “We track first-case start times, and a report goes out every morning, so we’ll…
Though retained surgical items (RSIs) cases are rare, they do happen, and they take a heavy toll throughout the system in terms of steep fines, malpractice claims, and compromised patient safety. Estimates of RSIs range from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 7,000 procedures. And a 2003 study by the…
Hospitalizations involving a lost sponge or instrument cost more than $60,000 on average, and related malpractice suits can cost hospitals between $100,000 and $200,000 per case, according to a March 8 USA Today article on retained surgical items (RSIs). “For many hospitals, lost sponges and other surgical items aren’t considered…
Noise in the OR, whether it is the sound of loud equipment, talkative team members, or music, is a patient and surgical safety factor that can affect the processing of auditory information by surgeons and other members of the OR team, finds a study. The study is the first to…
During a procedure in the OR, a medication is retrieved from the automated supply station and introduced onto the sterile field. The sterile field is then, unknowingly and unintentionally, contaminated by an unsterile medication. This example could happen in any operating room setting. In this case, the circulating nurse spoke…
The circulating nurse was cleaning up after surgery in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) when she noticed the internal chemical indicator (a Class 5 integrating indicator) had not reached its appropriate endpoint response, which is a pass. That meant an unprocessed instrument tray had been used on the patient. Her…
Duke University Hospital has had a Pre-Operative Screening Unit (POSU) in place for the past 16 years to optimize patients prior to surgery, but until recently, there were no hard data on surgical cancellation rates. Now, a retrospective analysis has revealed that fewer cancellations occur when patients are seen in…
A column on managing the OR revenue cycle. Audits of Medicare payments to hospitals are up dramatically. In all, 89% of hospitals reported activity by recovery audit contractors (RACs) in the third quarter of 2012, according to an American Hospital Association (AHA) survey. Here are tips on how your OR…
