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Articles

  • Suicidal Ideation in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

    Although irritable bowel syndrome is mostly viewed as a nuisance disease without serious consequences, a surprisingly large number of IBS patients may suffer severe depression, hopelessness, and consequential suicidal ideation.
  • Pharmacology Update: Oxycodone and Ibuprofen Tablets (CombunoxTM)

    A fixed combination of the narcotic analgesic oxycodone and the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent ibuprofen has been approved for the short-term treatment of acute moderate-to-severe pain. This first time combination of these 2 agents is marketed by Forest Laboratories as CombunoxTM.
  • As obesity rates rise, providers ask: How obese is too obese for outpatient?

    The obesity rate has risen dramatically, from 13% of men and 17% of women in 1980 to 28% of men and 34% of women in 1999-2000. Increasingly, outpatient surgery providers are faced with the question: Can we handle these people as outpatients?
  • Low-cost ideas boost your community image

    With many outpatient surgery programs having few, if any, funds available for public relations, there is a strong need for free or low-cost ways to improve your community image. Many programs are finding out that by giving back to their community, they also can reach potential patients and improve staff morale in the process.
  • HIPAA Q&A

    After my security officer is designated and familiar with the HIPAA security rule, what are my next steps toward compliance? What steps are necessary for a proper risk analysis, according to HIPAA? Is a risk analysis and review of security rule compliance a one-time activity?
  • Same-Day Surgery Manager

    Have you ever tracked how you spend your time? While boring, it can be useful information to have. I thought that it would be interesting to see what some of my operating room associates do with their time. We set up a task sheet to track this information.
  • How your program can save on educational costs

    Like many outpatient surgery programs, Mount Nittany Surgical Center in State College, PA, has a limited budget and always is trying to stretch its educational dollars as far as possible.
  • 66% of consumers talk to surgeons to reduce risk

    On the fifth anniversary of the Institute of Medicines 1999 report on the high number of medical errors in this country, 66% of consumers surveyed said that they have talked to a surgeon about details of a proposed surgery to reduce the risk of experiencing a medical error when seeking treatment.
  • Full March 2005 issue in PDF

  • Surgery center provides free hernia operation

    When a woman living near Lima, OH, started a service to provide free surgery to needy people overseas, she found a willing partner at nearby West Central Ohio Surgery and Endoscopy Center in Lima. The organization, called Childrens Medical Missions, sent a photo of a 10-year-old African boy needing a hernia operation to the center. She told the center a little about the child, and they decided to offer the surgery.