Monkeypox continues to pose a threat since an outbreak of cases began in the U.S. earlier this year. As of Sept. 29, the CDC reported 26,631 confirmed cases...

Our endoscopy center opened in December 2019, a few months before COVID-19 hit. My head was spinning not only from trying to run a brand new facility, but from rapidly changing infection prevention protocols...

When I founded the Atlas Surgical group of ASCs 15 years ago, we outsourced our billing operations. Our collection rate was about 80%, which was acceptable, but not stellar. I came to realize...

Teams in sterile processing departments are often tasked to do more with less, especially when surgeons push to perform more cases than the instrument inventory can handle and reprocessing techs are pressured...

The national company that supplied Lakeland (Fla.) Surgical & Diagnostic Center with food and drinks was experiencing shortages and found itself unable to provide the facility with crackers for patients, diet soda for surgeons...

The Medical Play Distraction Therapy program at Shriners Children’s Lexington (SCL), Ky., doesn’t end when pediatric patients are discharged. Parents are instructed to contact the recreational therapist who worked with...

Milton Lee (Chip) Routt Jr., MD, has always preferred to put pen to bedsheet. He has been drawing detailed illustrations of anatomy to facilitate his teachings to residents for decades. “The bedsheets of pre-op beds are great canvases...

Every surgical provider knows what a warm blanket can do for patient satisfaction. But why limit yourself to blankets? At Advanced CardioVascular Solutions in Oklahoma City, every patient who comes through its doors receives...

Interventional radiology (IR) is slowly finding its way into ASCs. IR physicians perform a wide variety of “pinhole surgeries” — minimally invasive procedures that leverage catheters, wires, needles and sheaths — using image guidance...

Promising research and early use of high-tech devices are providing a glimpse into what could someday become the norm in the same-day joint-replacement...

The movement of gynecology cases to same-day surgical spaces is being driven by physicians who want to perform procedures on carefully selected patients in comfortable and safe environments, according to...

The anterior or the posterior approach — which is better for total hip replacements? The debate has raged in the orthopedic community at conferences, in journals and online as surgeons often discuss the technique...

This page is often the hardest to fill. I typically save it for last, writing it to wrap up the issue before sending the final proofs to the printer. I’m often up late the night before deadline day trying to formulate my thoughts...

There are many steps to manage in the endoscope reprocessing process and missing or rushing through just one can lead to improper high-level disinfection and patient harm. “Endoscopes are very complex and intricate medical devices...

Your surgical team can instruct patients to bathe with antimicrobial soap before surgery and apply skin prep around the surgical site before incisions are made and that still might not be enough...

A little more than six years ago, Beki Kazanofski, MSN, RN, CNOR, NE-BC, was in the OR when a needle caught the very tip of her glove. “Thank god I was double-gloved, and I had that extra layer of protection,...

Facilities with the foresight to invest in the blending of surgeon skill and technological advancements are shaping the future of surgery. MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, Wash., added...

Anesthesia providers who excel in the outpatient setting have mastered the art and science of using local anesthetics to numb pain during increasingly complex procedures. They also understand how to...

Surgical teams expect to work with instruments that are sterilized correctly, in pristine condition and arrive in the OR in time for cases to begin as scheduled. Making sure...

Spine surgery is steadily moving out of the inpatient setting and into surgery centers thanks to an increase in minimally invasive options, a reduction in costs...