As if you don't have enough to do, now you can add dress code enforcer and bill collector to your ever-expanding job description.

Of all things, surgeons and nurses are in a dustup over what constitutes appropriate headwear in the OR (see "Readers in a Flap Over Skullcaps" on page 8). It's your job to officiate and to make sure nobody's feelings get hurt.

On a more serious note, it's also your job to make sure patients pay their deductibles and co-pays on the day of surgery. As you'll see in "Get Patients to Pay in Full on the Day of Surgery" on page 18, out-of-pocket costs are out of control. In the past 5 years, the average co-pay for outpatient surgery for those with employer-sponsored insurance has risen 43%. It's even higher for those covered through the Affordable Care Act's exchanges. Patients may not be aware of — or able to afford — what they owe.

This issue is a 72-page testament to all that you do as a surgical facility leader, to a job that never ends and to work that's never done. Our feature story lineup is nearly as vast and as varied as your duties and responsibilities.

One in 3 Americans is obese, a rate that has been steadily growing for more than 2 decades. Our cover story on the challenges of treating today's rising population of obese patients points to a disturbing — but perhaps unavoidable — trend. As you'll see in "Heavy Duty" on page 28, surgical facilities have responded to heavier patients with higher BMIs by raising their weight and BMI limits.

We highlight some of the lesser-known benefits of video integration in "Orchestrating the Sights and Sound of Surgery" on page 40.

Yes, add infection preventionist and Chief Bug Buster to your list of duties. "Can You Pass Our Surface Disinfection Quiz?" on page 44 tests your knowledge of antimicrobial cleaning practices with a 20-question, multiple-choice quiz.

Cataract surgery on both eyes at once? Patients love it. So do surgeons. But as you'll see in "Doubling Down on Cataract Surgery" on page 50, until payers get on board, simultaneous bilateral cataracts could have a hard time gaining traction.

You can't rush instrument processing, but try telling that to a surgeon who doesn't understand why it takes so long to get his sets back. See what you can do to save a few minutes here and there in "Can You Speed Up Your Reprocessing Department?" on page 60.