Same-Day Surgery 2008-01-01

Many have hire, for-cause drug tests, but should you perform random testing?

A surgical tech takes fentanyl from an anesthesia tray and substitutes it with a normal saline solution (NSS). He is caught when someone sees him taking the drug from the unattended anesthesia tray.

Managers must overcome challenges with drug testing

Employees have gotten very creative about diverting medications and drugs, and some are using newer anesthetics that aren't easy to test for, warns Bruce Cunha, manager of employee health and safety, and infection prevention and control, at Marshfield (WI) Clinic.

Educate your staff about signs, symptoms

Education is an important facet of the drug testing program at Tampa (FL) General Hospital, says JoAnn Shea, CHON-S, MS, ARNP, director of employee health services.

Phone calls during surgery can be risky

Suppose your facility was the subject of a malpractice claim, and a nurse told you that the surgeon happened to be on the phone when the mistake was made that injured the patient. Surely the surgeon was talking to another physician or reviewing lab results for the patient, right?

Bonus system helps reduce costs, boost satisfaction

With the help of a quarterly bonus system for physicians and staff, one South Carolina surgery center achieved a cost per case (medical supplies, implants, and drugs) of $159 in July 2007, and it has averaged a cost per case of $227 for 2007 at press time.

Same-Day Surgery Manager: 'The sky is falling, the sky is falling!'

The Chicken Littles are out in force since the new ambulatory surgery center (ASC) rates have been posted.

SDS Accreditation Update: Don't forget patient literacy when evaluating med reconciliation process in outpatient surgery

Because medication reconciliation is recognized as a key factor to prevention of medication-related errors, accreditation organizations require outpatient surgery programs to take steps to improve this process.

SDS Accreditation Update: Improvement seen in quality measures

American hospitals are making measurable strides in the quality of care provided for patients with surgical conditions, according to Improving America's Hospitals: The Joint Commission's Annual Report on Quality and Safety 2007, The Joint Commission's second report on health care quality and patient safety in hospitals.

SDS Accreditation Update: Don't skip any pages of AAAHC '08 manual

Organizations accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) in Skokie, IL, won't have to make major changes to meet new and revised standards in 2008, but they do have to read the standards manual carefully.

Patient Safety Alert supplement

Same-Day Surgery – January 1, 2008

January 1, 2008