Leaders translate legislative priorities to perioperative practice
The wave of new legal requirements for surgical smoke evacuation across the country has given OR leaders a crash course in how to act on any new legislation. Based on this experience, complying with other new and pending laws will put these skills to the test. Major hurdles are likely…
Study: OR waste training boosts recycling, but impact fades with time
Editor's Note A single training session on waste segregation significantly increased recycling rates among OR staff, but gains began to erode within two months, according to a study published May 26 in Nature: Scientific Reports. Conducted at Ankara University Cebeci Hospital, the quasi-experimental study assessed the impact of a single-session,…
New AHRQ toolkit empowers OR teams to cut MRSA, SSI risk
Editor's Note An actionable, evidence-based toolkit from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), released in April 2025, aims to help curb the risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and surgical site infections (SSIs), especially in high-risk orthopedic and cardiac procedures. As detailed in the AHRQ website, the “Toolkit…
CMS vision shifts as agency halts funding for state programs
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will no longer approve federal matching funds for designated state health programs (DSHPs) and designated state investment programs (DSIPs) that are not directly related to Medicaid services. According to the April 10 announcement, the decision aims to preserve the core…
Survey: AI reduces administrative burden, improves physician outlook
Editor's Note Physicians are feeling more optimistic about their profession and are beginning to see tangible benefits from AI in reducing administrative tasks, according to the latest Physician Sentiment Survey (PSS) from athenahealth. Physicians’ day-to-day outlook has improved in recent years despite ongoing concerns about US healthcare, the organization reported…
Closing Keynote: Trimming the Sails: Improving Perioperative Efficiency by Managing Same-Day Admission Transitions
Editor's Note Attendees to the 2025 OR Business Management Conference gained new insight with an international flavor from Moustafa Bleik and Fadi Fares, who had flown all the way from Saudi Arabia to detail recent improvements at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center. In a session with multiple audience…
Session: Crew Incentives: 3 Guiding Principles to Leverage Value Analysis Teams
Editor's Note Jasmine Hampton-Nicholson MSN, RN, CNOR, learned the value of a value analysis team (VAT) the hard way. “I thought that we had a very solid process for our value analysis team,” said the VP of perioperative services at Temple University Health System in a presentation at 2025 OR…
Pre-Conference Workshop: Foundational Leadership Practicum Certificate of Mastery
Editor's Note Asking questions at a business conference can go farther than one might think. Consider the new Foundational Leadership Practicum Certificate of Mastery (FLP-COM), created by CCI - Competency & Credentialing Institute in response to repeated questions about leadership certifications without formal mentoring or training in nursing. “We were…
Three strategies for demystifying the ASC supply chain puzzle
Ensuring safe, quality care requires precise alignment among inventory levels, delivery schedules, storage solutions, and every other element of the supply chain. A single missing piece of this puzzle—say, a delayed shipment or a storage issue—can disrupt the entire picture. Making the pieces fit can be difficult for any healthcare…
Visual management supports perioperative Lean efforts
Takeaways • Visual management (VM) tools support Lean efforts, leading to improved quality and efficiency. • VM boards provide an overview of processes, facilitate problem solving, and promote staff-manager collaboration. • Other VM tools such as color coding and customized instrument trays can help reduce errors and save money. Lean…
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