Same-Day Surgery – October 1, 2012
October 1, 2012
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Microdermal implants are growing trend — Will you know what to do?
A patient shows up for outpatient surgery and informs you she has a microdermal implant. You're not sure exactly what that is or what that means in terms of pressure points, friction when moving, or other issues. -
ASCA claims victory in quality reporting
In what the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) is labeling a victory in the final ASC quality reporting elements, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) accepted the association's proposal to exclude any secondary payer claims from the data completeness calculation. -
Falls are up in benchmarks released by quality group
In the Quality Report released by the ASC Quality Collaboration, falls in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) have increased for the first quarter 2012 to 0.153 per 1,000 admissions. This number is higher than the second, third, or fourth quarters of 2011, the group reports. -
Randomized surveys for injection safety in ASCs
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is scaling back its oversight of needle safety issues in ambulatory care and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), though noting that some 3,200 inspections done in fiscal years 2010 and 2011 "have found that deficient infection control practices are widespread in ASCs," according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). -
Same-Day Surgery Manager: Are staff happy, and do you care? You should
I admit to being more concerned about the above than what is happening with my own staff in my own centers. Deliberate? No. I just don't think of checking on my own staff members to see if their needs are met. I am paying them and providing benefits. Isn't that enough? What else do they need? -
91% of hospitals predict growth in outpatient ORs
Results of a nationwide survey of hospital executives who make decisions regarding capital equipment in hospitals indicated that operating room (OR) caseloads and costs will continue to rise over the next three years, driven by growth in both outpatient and inpatient procedures. -
New Sentinel Event Alert: Safe use of opioids
Although patients might need the strong pain relief that only opioids can provide, a Sentinel Event Alert issued by The Joint Commission urges healthcare providers to take specific steps to prevent serious complications or even deaths from opioid use. -
Codeine & tonsillectony can be a lethal mix
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing reports of children who developed serious adverse effects or died after taking codeine for pain relief after tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. -
Pilot program slashes colorectal SSIs by 33%
A patient safety team including researchers in the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality reported a one-third cut in the rate of costly and potentially lethal surgical site infections (SSIs) following colorectal operations after requiring use of a simple safety checklist and urging caregivers to speak up if they see potentially unsafe practices.