A surgeon blasts dangerous care, calls for ’transparency revolution’
Does your OR have a Hodad, a Raptor, or a Shrek? These are handles for dangerous surgeons that Martin Makary, MD, MPH, describes in his scathing new book, Unaccountable. Dr Makary, a surgeon and patient safety leader at Johns Hopkins, advocates a “transparency revolution” to make data public and motivate…
Editorial
She recalls it as one of her worst days as an OR director. She was paged to the postanesthesia care unit. When she got there, the surgeon told her there had been a horrible mistake. He had performed a total knee replacement on the wrong side. The surgeon asked if…
OR debriefings put the safety checklist ‘on steroids’
See it, say it, fix it. That saying by a former FedEx pilot set the stage for a major quality improvement effort in surgical services at a South Carolina medical center. A key QI tool is debriefings performed at the end of every case. These quick exchanges help to bring…
Spore test for liquid chemical sterilant processing system
A spore test strip is now available for the Steris System 1E Liquid Chemical Sterilant Processing System. The Steris Verify Spore Test Strip for S40 was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2012. What is the role of this new spore test strip? How is this…
ASCs seek dialog on drug shortages, single-use vials
A new villain has emerged in the struggle against drug shortages that continue to plague health care: the single-use vial. When a vial of injectable medication contains more than a particular patient needs, if the vial is designated “single-use,” the remainder must be discarded, according to recommendations from the Centers…
Editorial
A high rate of nurse burnout is linked to higher rates of catheter-related urinary tract infection (UTI) and surgical site infection (SSI), a new study in the American Journal of Infection Control finds. How can that be? How could burnout be linked to SSIs? The lead author, Jeannie Cimiotti, DNSc,…
Caring for children? Consider their unique needs
Like their older, larger, and sicker fellow patients, children can be candidates for outpatient surgery, and some ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) opt to specialize in treating the younger set. There is more to expanding an ASC’s patient base to pediatrics than putting a few toys in the waiting room (although…
Raising the bar for safety in the handling of surgical specimens
Is this specimen fresh or frozen? Is it routine, or does it require a lung protocol? Does it go to the frozen section lab or the microbiology department? Proper labeling and handling of surgical specimens are critical to reduce the risk of misdiagnosis and the need for repeat surgery. Decreasing…
Overcoming low health literacy: Helping your patient understand
Imagine sitting through a discussion with a surgeon or nurse and not understanding a single word—or worse, misinterpreting key information. Unfortunately, that’s the situation for many patients and their families because millions of people in the US have insufficient health literacy skills. A review in the American Journal of Surgery…
Curbing OR traffic: Finding ways to minimize the flow of personnel
A traffic cop? Stop signs? Flashing lights? Is there a way to curb the number of people passing in and out of ORs during cases? The number during a lengthy major surgery can reach a dozen or more, with door openings every minute or two. Door openings affect the OR’s…
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