Today's modern surgeons are directors and executive producers of the motion picture institutes that are today's sleek ORs, routing video from and to any flat-panel,...

We're a couple months into our unlikely — and unprecedented — partnership in which 3 rival hospitals within a 50-mile radius own and use the same ambulatory surgery...

Dedicated regional block nurses are invaluable when it comes to preparing patients for blocks, administering catheters and staying on schedule. But leadership doesn't always...

You've come to the right place if your surgeons and OR staff aren't happy with the gloves they're using, or if you're just looking for a better glove or a better deal. Not only...

At the end of pre-op clinic appointments, I hand patients a business card that includes my personal email address and request that a family member send me a message...

Adding new and innovative procedures is a proven way to increase your revenue, attract new patients and surgeons, and set yourself apart from the competition....

You can manually clean an endoscope until it shines and examine every millimeter of its insertion tube for pinhole leaks, but none of that matters if fluid remains in the scope's...

Ambulatory surgery center payment rates as a percentage of the hospital outpatient department rates have steadily declined over the years. In 2003, procedures...

We're all probably a little numb to medication safety. We get it. It's super important. We live the life. It's easy to become complacent until we have a problem....

How difficult is it to prep the skin for surgery? You pick an antiseptic agent and paint it on in concentric circles, beginning at the incision site and working outward,...

You never want to sacrifice patient safety in your quest to start the next case as soon as possible. Here's a collection of tips to speed room turnover without jeopardizing...

Cataract surgeons continue to live somewhat dangerously in their efforts to prevent the rare but dangerous infection of post-op endophthalmitis. Topical prophylaxis...

If your anesthesia providers rely on inhaled anesthetics and opioids, they're behind the times. As Gary Lawson, MD, says: "I used to knock out patients. Now I knock out...

Our hand hygiene compliance had gone to the dogs when the idea struck me to unleash my sweet English Bulldog, Lilly, on the problem. I took down our standard please...

The most common surgical malpractice claim is operative negligence, which arises when a plaintiff alleges that a surgeon deviated from the standard of care during...

The patient was saying all the right things, but something about the way she was acting seemed off. Turn on your observers, thought the receptionist. It's the motto...

Isador Lieberman, MD, MBA, FRCSC, was involved in the development of the original Mazor robot, and has been one of the pioneers and champions of robotic spine...

Soon after I started my career in the OR 38 (!) years ago, the first Universal Law of OR Nursing grabbed me by my scrub jacket and shook me into a higher state of...

It takes about 24 hours for enough epithelial cells to proliferate across surgical wounds to protect the area from infection. You can tell patients to keep wounds...

I've conducted more than 1,000 fire drills at surgery centers. OR staff make the same 4 mistakes when trying to extinguish a simulated fire. These simple errors...