Safety Hospitals are facing stiff economic winds. They are challenged by shrinking reimbursement from Medicare and Medicare, even as more patients will be covered by these publicly funded programs. Perioperative managers and directors are under pressure to make the most of their department’s resources. You’re being asked to measure every aspect…
Technology is starting to take its place as a supplement to manual counts in the effort to prevent retained surgical items (RSIs). RSIs persist despite the emphasis many ORs have placed on tightening their manual counting methods. Recent reports from California are an example of the challenge ORs are up…
Three elective surgical procedures saw declines in early 2009 for a group of facilities participating in the OR Benchmarks Collaborative. Hernia repair and total hip and total knee replacement volumes were down in January through July compared with the same period the year before. Declines were: Hernia repair: minus 7%…
