October 2022

My hospital's sterile processing department is a constant buzz of activity. We manage 2,000 instrument sets and 47 techs work around the clock to reprocess more than 300 trays — from basic laparoscopy equipment to complex orthopedic instrumentation...

Boost Your Endoscope Efficiency;Small improvements in colonoscopy screenings will help keep patients moving.

The Hazardous Drug Bags from Medi-Dose can help your facility comply with USP <800>, which provides standards for limiting staff exposure to potentially harmful...

The lead aprons, skirts and vests your staff wear to protect themselves from radiation exposure are an often-ignored aspect of infection prevention protocols. Following these...

At the heart of electrosurgery safety is a firm understanding of how the technology works and the core principles driving its use. A base knowledge of the physics behind...

C-arm technology has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years with compact mobile units producing images that rival the quality of those produced by higher-end,...

In addition to marking the correct surgery site, we always place patients' ID and allergy wristbands on the side thier surgeries will be performed. It's a simple safety check that...

Our PACU staff used to ask that question a lot because we didn't have a designated place to put them. When patients handed over their glasses in pre-op, we'd affix...

Technological advancements have allowed for the gradual shift of complex surgeries from acute care hospitals to outpatient ORs. Several procedures are on the move...

Behind Closed Doors: Pandemonium During the Pandemic; People cope with the fear of the unknown in interesting ways.

I love to sketch and draw in my free time, so during pre-op clinic visits I ask patients what kind of drawing they want me to make on the bandages I'll place over their scars...

Kenneth Levin, MD, was performing his fourth big abdominal case of the day when his neck and back suddenly froze. "The PA looked at me, and I looked at her, and she knew...

Ohthalmology has a long history of innovation, and we're fortunate to have access to several cutting-edge treatments that reduce pain and inflammation after cataract...

When surveyors come knocking, the worst thing you can do is keep them waiting while you scramble around searching to find the documents they asked to see. That's why...

Looking for a better way to organize your inventory of frozen tissue grafts? To improve efficiency when preparing for a case, we developed a system that involves placing...

The sun was shining on a warm March day as I walked across the parking lot of my son's school. Hours earlier, the governor of Pennsylvania had called off classes to help...

Surgeries can be splashy, messy affairs. Floor-based fluid management mats and pads are a more effective and economical option than throwing blankets, towels or...

One of outpatient surgery's hottest specialties is fueling the rise of spinal anesthesia. "Before we performed total joints in surgery centers, we hadn't utilized spinal anestesia...

The patient came in for a cystoscopy, a common outpatient procedure that only requires a person to be on the table for about 25 minutes. But the procedure does...

Patient satisfaction surveys and comments from providers trying to communicate with patients indicated that the ambient noise in our small pre/post-operative area was...

The coronavirus has ground outpatient surgeries to a halt. As the nationwide response to the outbreak enters its second month, every possible healthcare resource is being...

From late physicians to cases going longer than expected, you can't control the many factors that lead to lengthy, frustrating surgical delays. But you can control how well...

We use a free game app (kahoot.com) to turn ho-hum staff meetings into fun, interactive learning sessions. It's easy to input a series of multiple choice or true-false...