Session: ASC joint ventures—Risk or reward?
Editor's Note “Patients, physicians, and others basically label hospitals as the place you go when you’re sick,” Joan Dentler, MBA, Founder and President of Avanza Healthcare Strategies, said when opening the session, “ASC Joint Ventures—Risk or Reward?” On the flip side, she continued, “outpatient services is where you go when…
Session: Designing a sustainable model for your future OR
Editor’s Note Michelle Larson, DNP, RN, NE-BC, Nurse Administrator at Mayo Clinic, posed this quote from Dr Charles Mayo, founder of the Mayo Clinic, when opening the session, “Designing a Sustainable Model for your Future OR Today”: “If we excel in anything, it is in our capacity for translating idealism…
Pre-Conference Workshop: Financial management and key concepts for success
To be a leader today you must be competent to understand the drive of financials, says Brandon Bennett, DNP, APRN, CNOR, CNS-CP, CSSM, CNAMB, NE-BC, adding that “optimization is critical.” Bennett discussed the significance of understanding financial management in the OR in the pre-conference workshop on Sunday at the OR…
Senior-level residents can perform general surgery cases safely without attending surgeons scrubbed in
Editor's Note This study led by researchers at Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois, and Edward Hines Jr Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, Illinois, finds that core general surgery cases performed by senior-level residents can be done safely without the attending surgeons scrubbed in. Of 109,707 patients analyzed, 11,181 had procedures…
Smart sutures prevent infection, monitor patient recovery
Editor's note Researchers at Australia-based RMIT University have developed a new antimicrobial suture material that can reduce infections and simplify postoperative monitoring. Laboratory testing on the surgical suture finds it is easily visible in CT scans and that it has strong antimicrobial properties, killing 99% of highly drug-resistant bacteria after…
Hospital quality, neighborhood deprivation linked to postop mortality
Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, finds that characteristics of patients’ neighborhoods and hospitals where they received treatment were both associated with postoperative mortality. This analysis included 1,898,829 Medicare beneficiaries from all neighborhood types undergoing one of five common surgical procedures in…
FDA: Addition to Class I recall of LivaNova LifeSPARC System Controller
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 27 posted an addition to the Class I recall by LivaNova (TandemLife) of its LifeSPARC System Controller. The addition to the recall provides information about a software update now available to address the previous software malfunction and recall. The System…
FDA: Class I recall of Datascope/Getinge Cardiosave Hybrid, Rescue IABPs
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 25 identified the recall by Datascope/Gettinge of its Cardiosave Hybrid and Rescue Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumps (IABPs) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the risk that blood may enter the pump through a damaged balloon…
No difference in quality between preop telemedicine, in-person visits
Editor's Note This study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, finds no difference in quality of shared decision making in surgical patients having preoperative in-person vs telemedicine visits. Of 387 patients who were scheduled for surgery between May 2021 and June 2022, 301 had in-person visits and 86 had…
Physician happiness down since COVID-19 pandemic
Editor's Note Medscape’s 2023 Physician Lifestyle and Happiness Report finds that physician happiness fell during the COVID-19 pandemic and is not rebounding easily, the January 20 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The survey findings include: 59% of physicians say they are “somewhat” or “very happy,” down from 84% before COVID-19. The…
