Are you on target for meeting SSI, SCIP metrics?
OR leaders will want to check that their surgical site infection (SSI) rates are in line with 5-year goals in the updated National Action Plan for reducing health care-associated infection (HAI) from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). By and large, hospitals are on target to meet SSI…
How to add more teeth to your loaner set policy
It’s one thing to have a policy on managing loaner instrument sets. But how do you put teeth in your policy so these sets can be reprocessed in time to provide safe care and comply with professional guidelines and regulatory requirements? Readers have asked how to get administrative support for…
Practice now applying the new ASC quality codes
While the deadline for beginning to report quality measures on Medicare claim forms is not until October 1, 2012, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) can start practicing. On April 1, 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a set of reporting codes for the first 5 measures. The…
HHS: A draft for closer scrutiny of HAIs in ASCs
Infection control is in the spotlight again, as ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) examine a draft Health and Human Services (HHS) document calling for closer scrutiny of precautions in outpatient settings. The agency released a draft of Phase 2 of its National Action Plan to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) on April…
Study could lead to more scrutiny of anesthesia staffing for GI cases
Who should be giving sedation to low-risk patients having colonoscopies and upper GI endoscopies? This question may get a new look with a large new study in the March 21, 2012, JAMA. Researchers found use of anesthesia services for these cases has more than doubled over 7 years, jumping from…
Editorial
In a simple quiz, medical students are asked to read a short paragraph about what sounds like a robbery. Then, as individuals, they answer 18 questions about the paragraph. After that, they gather in a group to answer the questions as a team. On their own, some answer as few…
Using evidence-based nurse leadership guidance
Your OR is starting to bring in new graduates—a practice almost unheard of 15 years ago. You’re finding it’s taking them longer than expected to adjust. Or you’re running into roadblocks in fostering team communication among nurses, physicians, and other staff. Where do you turn? One place to look…
Greener ORs: Keys to making the business case
Perioperative staff and managers face a variety of pressures: improving processes, enhancing patient outcomes, documenting savings, meeting regulations, and more, all in a time of tighter budgets. With so much to balance, it can be difficult to consider (much less sell to upper management) the idea of greening the operating…
Free Daily News
- Surgeons remove spinal tumor through eye socket in unprecedented procedure
- Commentary: Systemic trauma, not burnout, drives healthcare’s workforce crisis
- Federal grant cuts threaten hospital disaster readiness
- Study: Outpatient PCI safety comparable for ASCs, HOPDs
- Study: Knowledge gaps hinder perioperative hypothermia prevention
- Scientists question NIH's $500M bet on old vaccine technology
- Study: Inadequate RN staffing raises patient mortality, costs
- Dissolution of CDC infection control panel raises concern over stagnant guidelines
- State AGs sue HHS over sweeping cuts
- Medtech giants move fast to blunt tariff impact without raising prices
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