Outpatient orthopedics has come a long way in a very short period of time. I vividly remember when my mother-in-law had her knee replaced in a hospital and how she couldn’t sleep afterward because she was in such...

We’re witnessing a perfect storm of factors converging at the perfect time to make outpatient spine one of surgery’s hottest specialties. There’s overwhelming physician buy-in, widespread insurer acceptance, proven statistics...

Proper patient positioning before shoulder surgery prevents painful nerve and pressure injuries, and gives surgeons critical access to hard-to-reach areas of the joint space....

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already seen the well-deserving winners of the 2021 OR Excellence Awards. Because the editors of this fine publication didn’t feel the need to solicit input from their backpage banterer...

Surgery centers are highly dependent on anesthesia services to run productive and dynamic surgical businesses, but maintaining working relationships with quality provider groups has never been more challenging....

Your staff must know how to immediately respond if a patient’s airway catches fire, surgical equipment starts to spark or flames erupt in the sterile field. It’s helpful to designate specific roles for each surgical team member...

Great ideas for your OR

The 2022 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and ASC Payment System proposed by CMS is filled with changes that are more curious than cause for serious concern. CMS, which ultimately intends to slow...

Many of you have learned, implemented, tweaked and documented new cleaning practices and infection control protocols — measures that seemingly changed from week to week — to keep your patients and staff safe...

SeeSee Rigney is something else. I’ve followed the twilight of her surgical nursing career that has spanned seven decades through online articles and features on national...

Surgeons at Houston Premier Surgery Center in The Villages sign surgical sites in pre-op and huddle with the surgical team in the OR to make sure they signed the correct spot. It’s often a straightforward process, but orthopedic...

When linens were in short supply during COVID-19, staff at Houston Physicians’ Hospital (HPH) struggled to procure enough cotton blankets to keep their patients warm. When they reached out to vendors to try to obtain more...

Many patients at Einstein Endoscopy Center in Blue Bell, Pa., leave behind the no-slip socks they’re provided. “The socks are used only for a couple of hours, and we used to throw them away, but, at the suggestion of a patient,...

Reprocessing techs at outpatient ophthalmic facilities don’t often deal with grossly contaminated instruments, so it helps to alert them when tools are in need of extra attention before sterilization. “Enzymatic detergents...

Asking patients to follow strict NPO restrictions is no longer commonplace — and for good reason. Allowing patients to drink clear fluids up to two hours before their scheduled procedures keeps them hydrated, reduces...

Reading about a wide range of topics and people helps to build awareness about the importance of cultural diversity, says Crystal N. Johnson-Mann, MD, an assistant professor of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery...

This is an article about endoscope reprocessing. You know what that entails by now. Or at least you should. Scopes are wiped down with an enzymatic cleaner at the bedside...

From meticulous bedside pre-cleaning to high-level disinfection, endoscope reprocessing is a complex process that benefits greatly from standardization. That’s no...

The catherization lab built in the new Quincy Medical Group (QMG) Surgery Center is the first of its kind in Illinois and showcases the tantalizing potential of outpatient...

A lot can go wrong when patients are placed in steep Trendelenburg. This high-risk position has many well-known dangers, such as shearing injuries that occur when...