Dirty scopes persist despite cleaning protocol compliance
Recent outbreaks of deadly infections linked to flexible endoscopes have made headlines, and the Food and Drug Administration has issued strict guidelines for reprocessing these devices. However, cleaning and disinfection may not be effective under the recommended protocols, says Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, epidemiologist and president and chief executive officer,…
Anesthesia patient satisfaction hinges on safety, comfort, and communication
Is it possible to adequately capture the experience of patients undergoing anesthesia when their awareness and perceptions are typically altered by their very experience? A 5-year study of anesthesia patient satisfaction suggests that not only is it possible, but the results are meaningful in providing anesthesia-specific validation and in identifying…
Survey: OR staff low in volume, experience, engagement--Part 2
Part 1 of this series on staffing challenges, published in October OR Manager, explored the challenge of increased demand. In Part 2, we turn to lack of experience, again including examples of how OR leaders are responding. Recruiting for experience In all, 70% of respondents to the 2016 OR…
Smart marketing helps ASCs attract patients and surgeons--Part 1
Recent developments, including the push to outpatient services, increased consumer engagement, and a focus on outcomes, have made ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) well positioned in the healthcare marketplace. But as with any marketplace, it takes bold thinking and thoughtful strategy to ensure an ASC stands out to consumers, physicians, and…
Salary remains flat as volume increases for OR leaders
OR leaders face an increasing number of stresses, ranging from pressure to trim already lean budgets to searching for staff who could potentially replace them as they contemplate retirement. At the same time, OR leaders’ salaries remain flat, according to results from the 2016 annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. Respondents…
Bundled payments: Part and parcel of value-based care
Government and third-party payers are pushing for value-based, rather than volume-based, models of care, yet few hospitals are moving that direction, a survey shows. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires that half of hospitals’ payments be value based by 2018, according to a 2016 Health Catalyst survey…
Preventing a cyber attack takes commitment--and money
Information technology (IT) has been a lifesaver and a timesaver in healthcare, bringing speed and precision to medical-surgical procedures and replacing paperwork with electronic computation, storage, and communication. But there is a dark side. Systems can be sabotaged, files can be opened, and devices used in surgery can fail at…
Survey: OR staff low in volume, experience, engagement--Part 1
OR managers might yearn for a past when a well-staffed team of experienced RNs and surgical technologists were committed heart and soul to their jobs, but it’s clear that idyllic time is gone, if indeed, it ever really existed. Most managers now face a triple threat in staffing trends, any…
Survey finds little change in ASC leader compensation, satisfaction
Leaders in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are seeing little to no growth in salary, even through most are experiencing higher surgical volumes, according to the OR Manager 2016 Salary/Career Survey. The average annual salary was $104,721, slightly more than the $102,051 in 2015, but the average total compensation was down…
Surgical volume rising along with staff vacancies, survey shows
OR leaders continue to face increases in volume and staffing mobility, according to the 2016 annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. The volume of surgical procedures in the past 12 months increased for slightly more than half of respondents (51%), compared to 43% in 2015. In terms of staffing, respondents noted…
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