The Business of Surgery Surgeon champions can make or break a perioperative initiative. But it’s not enough to simply identify a single champion. OR leaders must engage a wide range of physicians to improve the organizational structure of the healthcare system. At Intermountain Healthcare, a 22-hospital system based in Salt Lake City, Utah, surgical…
More than 350 surgical services leaders from across the US gathered at the OR Business Management Conference in Glendale, Arizona, in February to learn strategies for managing both healthcare and self-care. Attendees came away inspired by thought-provoking keynotes and ready to implement ideas sparked by interactive sessions, exhibitors, and their…
Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs are gaining ground with recent data showing that they improve outcomes. The programs consist of multidisciplinary, evidence-based protocols implemented in the perioperative period to provide standardized patient care. Like other changes in healthcare delivery, adopting ERAS programs takes time and effort. Despite positive results…
Creating a “Cost Conscious Culture Committee” helped Maine Medical Center (MMC) in Portland shave more than $1.8 million in operating costs from the beginning of 2014 to the end of 2015. Not only that, but during 2015, MMC’s perioperative services leaders were also involved in a $40 million expansion project…
Results of a recent survey suggest that a great deal of unnecessary product waste could be avoided if OR nurses changed their approach to using absorbable hemostatic agents. The survey, administered electronically to 200 US registered nurses in late 2014, found that 62% of respondents prepared absorbable hemostatic agents before…
Deciding to become an entrepreneur is an exciting first step in launching a new career, but ensuring the success of that career requires several other steps. Part 1 of this series on entrepreneurship (OR Manager, March 2016, pp 1, 11-13) explored several self-assessment strategies for making the decision to take…
H ealthcare trends come and go, but one that shows no signs of stopping is value-based payment. Just this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replace-ment (CCJR) model, which mandates bundled payment for two of the most common surgical procedures in the…
Each year, 3 million Americans have cataracts removed, according to the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS). Between the aging population and the increasing number of cataract procedures being performed, it’s not surprising that ophthalmology has led the way in specialties that are moving to the outpatient setting.…
Recommendations emerging from a data analytics project have helped OR leaders at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, better anticipate daily surgical case volume and share that information with their managers. Data gleaned from the project are now being used to predict staffing needs for the OR, anesthesia department,…
Some perioperative services leaders retire from the OR with plans to become consultants, drawing on their years of experience to help facilities and remain active in the field. Some do not envision this or any other type of post-retirement career, yet they find themselves lured into a business opportunity. Entrepreneurship…
