After writing my latest article on surgical robots (Operationalizing a robotics program for evenings, weekends, pp 13–15, 19) for this issue of OR Manager, I reminisced on how the surgical robot has evolved and how my interest in surgical robots began.   Reminiscing about robots It all began with the…

Read More

The St Elizabeth Healthcare organization in northern Kentucky has eight facilities, including two surgery centers. The flagship hospital on the Edgewood campus has 534 beds and 22 ORs and typically performs some 14,000 surgical procedures per year. Robots help manage the volume. The Edgewood, Florence, and Ft Thomas hospitals have…

Read More

Imagine this: As a nurse in the OR talks with a patient, a computer listens in, recording the nurse’s notes so that data are added automatically to be retrieved later. The surgeon and anesthesiologist also interact with the patient without the burden of manual data entry, and the insurance company…

Read More

On September 15, 2022, AORN released its updated Guideline for Processing Flexible Endoscopes. Over the past several years, there has been significant research on flexible endoscope processing—research that met the stringent requirements and has been included in this revised guideline by AORN’s lead author and team. Endoscope processing begins with…

Read More

Today’s chat is with Casey Orth-Nebitt, MSN, RN, CNOR, Director of Surgery, Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, Storm Lake, Iowa. Q: What is something that went right at your facility and/or that you are thankful for this year? I'm always thankful for my staff, who have remained loyal, hardworking, and…

Read More

Editor's Note Vials of the chemotherapy drug fludarabine could be purchased at a whole sale price of $110 last year—today, it is being sold for a much higher price, Fierce Pharma November 1 reports. One company, Areva Pharmeceuticals, increased the price to $2,736, Stat News reported on October 27. This…

Read More

Editor's Note Memorial Healthcare System in Hollywood, Florida, via an initiative spearheaded by Jennifer Goldman, DO, chief of Memorial Primary Care, began including social determinants of health (SDOH) data in its electronic health record (EHR), “where doctors can see and act of them”—and that is improving patient care, HealthLeaders November…

Read More

Editor's Note According to a November 1 news release from Business Wire, a study done by Elevance Health shows that to 79% of patients surveyed, virtual primary care, or telehealth, has allowed them to take charge of their health, Becker’s Hospital Review November 1 reports. The study was conducted online…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 1 identified the recall of Teleflex’s Iso-Gard Filter S as Class I, the most serious. Iso-Gard filters are breathing circuit bacterial filters that are connected to respiratory equipment or breathing systems in operating rooms and ICUs. The recall was initiated…

Read More

Editor's Note There is scarce information currently available about perioperative industry averages and OR operations best practices. OR Manager, as the leading source where perioperative managers and directors go to find answers to current problems, is leading the effort to pool information for both inpatient and outpatient facilities in 7…

Read More