The Business of Surgery Hospitals with better nursing work environments and above-average staffing levels were associated with better surgical value (ie, lower mortality with similar costs) in this study, especially for higher-risk patients. Past studies have shown that hospitals with better nursing work environments provide better quality of care, but less is known about…
Surgeons often complain that their physician preference cards (PPCs) are not current, and keeping on top of the situation can be a struggle. Yet having accurate information on these cards greatly enhances both efficiency and patient safety, say surgical services leaders who have overhauled their systems. In this article, experts…
Even the most experienced OR leaders often view physician preference cards (PPCs) as a beast that acts out and demands attention at the most inconvenient times. Two organizations that have managed to tame the PPC beast shared their experiences with OR Manager. Updating cards saves more than $3.2 million Tresa…
High reliability has now permeated the healthcare literature, but some clinicians are still unsure exactly what it means. A simple definition offered by Coleen Smith, MBA, RN, CPHQ, director of High Reliability Initiatives for the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, is “excellence in patient care for every patient, every…
Sterilization packaging is considered a medical device and thus it must undergo validation testing before being used in healthcare facilities. To ensure proper packaging that will maintain the integrity of sterilization, consult the packaging manufacturers’ instructions for use (IFU) and follow the sterilization standards and guidelines from the Association for…
With several months of experience using an updated version of the International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) diagnosis coding system, most US healthcare providers, including ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), are finding their worst fears have yet to materialize. ‘Lights would go out’ Although Medicare has not yet released data, insurance…
Is your preanesthesia testing area providing measurable value, and is it positioned to drive surgery toward a new paradigm of care? As government payers shift toward value-based care with the required bundled payment for total joints starting in 800 hospitals and 75 markets (as part of the Comprehensive Care for…
When it comes to buying medical-surgical supplies, quality, safety, and physician comfort are foremost—but that doesn’t mean price is no object. Even though ambulatory surgery center (ASC) staff often lack materials management expertise, they can achieve cost savings in several ways, especially if they brush up on terms used in…
Business managers make up a relatively small percentage of perioperative services staff, but they play an increasingly important role in ensuring quality of patient care. That’s probably one reason for the growing popularity of the annual OR Business Management Conference, which will be held February 21-24, 2016, in Phoenix. The…
OR Manager, Inc, and ECRI Institute have joined in a collaboration to bring OR Manager readers quarterly supplements on topics such as medical technology management and procurement, risk management, and patient safety. ECRI Institute is an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care. Three-dimensional (3-D) printers…
