Safety 
Today’s chat is with Brian S. Dawson, MSN, RN, CNOR, CSSM, System VP, Perioperative Services, CommonSpirit Health, Denver. Q: What is something that went right at your facility and/or that you are thankful for this year? I couldn’t have asked for anything better this year than how our perioperative council…
Download the PDF Version of the Industry Spotlight In 2013, LeanTaaS partnered with Stanford Health Care to solve an infusion scheduling challenge and created an algorithm to optimally match available supply with ongoing demand. The solution for Stanford worked, leading to 18 months of refining algorithms before creating the product,…
Surgical volume is rising, and the need for perioperative nurses continues to grow. Same-day procedures are becoming more common, even for complex cases such as total joint replacements and spine surgery. With the decrease in in-patient, post-surgical stays and more surgeries being performed in various ambulatory settings, the skillset for…
Electronic health records (EHRs) can be a force for good, promoting patient safety, but they also often have multiple pain points. OR leaders can take steps to ease those pain points. Part 1 of this two-part series provided an overview of EHR challenges and how managers can work with staff…
A lot has happened with ASC quality measure reporting in the last 2 years, especially this year, says Gina Throneberry, MBA, RN, CNOR, CASC, director, education and clinical affairs, Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA). Throneberry spoke at the ASCA annual conference in April. In the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid…
The CDC’s healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevalence survey estimated that 110,800 surgical site infections (SSIs) were connected with inpatient procedures in 2015. As of 2020, Advancing Surgical Care reported that there are around 5,700 Medicare-certified ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) in the US. Of these, only 6 states require ASCs to use…
The good news from the 2022 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey is that in the wake of lessening disruption from COVID-19 throughout the country, surgical procedure volume has returned to many ORs, with nearly half of respondents (48%) reporting increased volume over the past year, double last year’s findings (26%). The…
What if unprofessional behavior in the OR could be managed through something as simple as an informal chat over a cup of coffee? This peer-to-peer approach advocated by Vanderbilt University School of Medicine led to the development of two well-established, scientifically validated programs designed to offset unprofessional behavior: the Patient…
Is there really a nursing shortage? “Is this a question or a statement?” asks Ruth P. Shumaker, BSN, RN, CNOR, executive director perioperative services, Regional One Health, Germantown, Tennessee. “It’s a little bit of both,” she answers. “Some of it has been self-made, and some of it is because we…
Electronic health records (EHRs) have been decried as a drag on an organization’s efficiency and a source of frustration for clinicians and managers. Complaints related to documentation time, compatibility with other systems, and report generation are common. These shortcomings were reflected in the 2022 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. More than…
