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Are you among those who don’t always label containers on a sterile field?

The ramifications for not labeling medications on the sterile field can be severe for patients and for providers, due to liability and now, a new National Patient Safety Goal from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

Confirm medications as well as their labels

To avoid medication errors, the scrub person and the circulating nurse should concurrently verify all medications and solutions visually and verbally by reading the product name, strength, and dosage from the labels, advises the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) in Huntingdon Valley, PA.

How can administrators ensure medication safety?

To ensure medication safety in your program, perform regular safety rounds in perioperative areas to observe labeling procedures, promote consistency, and inquire about barriers to implementing this safety practice, advises the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) in Huntingdon Valley, PA.

Save your program money: Shop at department stores

Many of us thinking about shopping at discount department stores or office supply stores when we want to save money on household items, but one surgery center saved thousands by hitting these same stories to purchase medical equipment.

By end of year, GAO to complete ASC report

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is required by law to implement a new payment system for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) by Jan. 1, 2008.

Purchase of presbyopia-correcting IOL clarified

Medicare beneficiaries can purchase presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses (IOLs), under a new ruling from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Same-Day Surgery Manager: What doctors are saying and why they are leaving

Like the rest of the operating room world, I began my career in the not-for-profit hospital environment. I was around in the early days of surgery centers; and for a number of reasons, I made the switch to the for-profit world of surgery centers. I have learned much.

AAASC creates new state advocacy program

The American Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (AAASC) has announced a new state advocacy program in collaboration with state associations, corporate ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), and allied national organizations.

HIPAA Q&A

This column addresses specific questions related to implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

2 free HIPAA resources available on the web

Two resources that address the security rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are available on the Internet.

Federal office addresses HIPAA privacy question

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) posts answers to frequently asked questions related to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule on its web site: www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa.

Calendar

SDS Acreditation Update: Joint Commission’s 2006 National Patient Safety Goals address communications and medication safety

The two new items added to the 2006 National Patient Safety Goals were ones that received the highest marks in the first-ever field review of proposed patient safety goals for outpatient surgery programs.

SDS Acreditation Update: Competency assessment ranks high in survey

Meeting the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations standard for competency assessment of staff was a problem for 14% of ambulatory care organizations and 15% of office-based surgery organizations surveyed in 2004, according to Joint Commission statistics.

Patient Safety Alert supplement

Same-Day Surgery – July 1, 2005

July 1, 2005