OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 Hospital outpatient departments will have to use a surgical safety checklist during 2012 to receive their full Medicare payment update in 2014—even though they don’t have to report the checklist’s use until 2013. Related article, p 20. That’s one of 2 new…

Read More

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 As surgical suites face decreasing reimbursement, OR business managers are looking to increase their knowledge of OR processes and to improve their critical financial skills. OR business managers are invited to participate in the first workshop designed specifically for their professional interests.…

Read More

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 ACCREDITATION Accreditation accountability, Mar: 6 CMS anesthesia guidelines, Apr: 23 Reprocessing laryngoscope blades,Dec: 15 Top performers listed, Nov: 24 ALLOGRAFTS Bone allografts, part 5, Feb: 20 Bone allografts: part 4, Jan: 15 Practical guide, Mar: Supplement Questions for suppliers, Jan: 16 AMBULATORY…

Read More

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 An analysis of 12 orthopedic and cardiac surgery categories by Premier finds 323 hospitals losing $1.82 billion annually because of Medicare payment shortfalls. Medicare reimbursement rates, lack of outcomes evidence, and costs of physician preference items (PPIs) are the main reasons. Hospitals…

Read More

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 Medicare is proposing a major overhaul to its conditions of participation (CoP) that would give hospitals wider latitude in the use of practitioners such as advanced practice RNs (APRNs) and physician assistants (PA). The rule would also expand use of standing orders…

Read More

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 Santa dragged his lawn chair out to a sunny patch to sort through his bag of holiday gifts. With global warming, he is able to relax in shorts and a tank top instead of his traditional bulky red suit. He checked his…

Read More

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 Slower walking in elderly patients may signal a higher risk of postop complications and longer stays, finds a study presented at the American College of Surgeons meeting in October 2011. Surgical patients 65 and older were given a preop walking test: standing…

Read More

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 12; December 2011 Take the right people and add the right software and the right processes. The result: an end-to-end surgical supply and inventory management system built on trust that yields useful data for decision making. In 2010, its first year, the team at the…

Read More

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 11; November 2011 FDA collaborates to prevent surgical fires The Food and Drug Administration and 16 partner organizations have launched an initiative to: increase awareness of factors contributing to surgical fires disseminate tools for preventing surgical fires promote surgical fire risk reduction practices. Tools include…

Read More

OR Manager; Vol. 27 No. 11; November 2011 Would receiving a single payment for procedures like total hip and knee replacement bring hospitals and surgeons into closer alignment? Would care be delivered in a more coordinated manner with higher quality and greater cost-effectiveness? It’s the way more Medicare reimbursement may…

Read More