At Risk Care Plans: A Way to Reduce Readmissions and Adverse Events
Our Take This article describes an “At Risk Care Plan,” the goal of which is to improve safety and quality care by anticipating individual safety and care needs of patients at risk and to communicate those needs to the health care team. This intervention has reduced hospital readmissions, costs, and…
Spending bill in House would end funding for AHRQ
The House Appropriations Committee has approved a draft budget for fiscal 2016 that would terminate funding for HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The proposal would also cut funding for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Just last week, AHRQ announced plans to…
Study of Ebola Preparedness Resources in U.S. Hospitals: Costs, Benefits and Challenges
The Joint Commission, Department of Health Services Research, and researchers from Rhode Island Hospital and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America are conducting a study that will provide estimates of the costs and benefits of Ebola preparedness to hospitals. For the study, a nationally representative sample of hospitals will be…
Using more robust data leads to better outcomes
Many perioperative services leaders still struggle to get meaningful data on what influences the success or failure of a surgical patient. One resource that’s readily available and has a proven track record is the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP). “NSQIP has shown that the…
SCOREing patient safety with a proactive approach
Avoiding preventable harm in the OR is the goal of any surgical services department, and meeting that goal requires excellent communication and collaboration among staff members. At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the Safe Care in the OR Everytime (SCORE) project has raised awareness about safety and engaged front-line…
Checklists help staff keep cool in the heat of an OR crisis
An emergency situation in the OR can rattle even the most experienced surgeons, anesthesiologists, and staff. To help reduce anxiety and prompt a more effective response to emergencies, clinicians increasingly are turning to cognitive aids. These cognitive aids, routinely used for years in aviation and other high-hazard industries, are an…
Fine-tuning the Munro Scale for pressure ulcers
Pressure ulcers affect up to 3 million adults in the US each year, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Surgical patients are at high risk to develop pressure ulcers because of immobility during long procedures and anesthesia that blocks sensitivity to pain and pressure. Estimates of treatment…
Don’t let faulty processing put a damper on instrument packaging
Instruments that are still damp or wet after being sterilized cannot be placed in storage. The moisture that remains on or inside of a package can create a pathway for microorganisms to travel from the outside to the inside of the package. Moisture may be in the form of visible…
UV light disinfection robots help to overpower pathogens
Disinfection robots are first on the ECRI Institute’s 2015 Top 10 Hospital C-Suite Watch List, which includes new and emerging technologies healthcare providers should know about. Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are a persistent problem, and a recent study supports the efficacy of disinfection robots. However, the technology is expensive, and experts…
Infections spur new guidelines for endoscope reprocessing
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 17 published a final guidance on reprocessing reusable medical devices. This guidance, which provides manufacturers with recommendations to validate their reprocessing instructions, comes on the heels of a host of “superbug” bacteria outbreaks related to reprocessing of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) duodenoscopes.…
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- Ambulatory general surgery safe for older adults when patients are carefully selected
- Outpatient artificial disc replacement proves safe, efficient, game-changing for spine surgery
- Study identifies risk factors for PE and DVT after ambulatory surgery
- Surgical patients see better outcomes but face longer hospital stays, AHA and Vizient report finds
- Study shows new nurses need a year to be ready for independent practice
- FDA flags device recalls while clearing new technologies for surgery, critical care
- Back to Business: Budgeting for Sustainable Staffing Models in the OR
- Healthcare job gain in August offset by losses in federal government, other industries
- AHA study: HOPD Medicare patients are poorer, sicker, more rural than those seen in physician offices
- ACS, Lifesaving Technologies launch nationwide effort to expand bleeding control readiness