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I've been in the business of surgery for the past 24 years. Years before that, I was in a clinical role in the OR. I try to stay ahead of the curve; that's my job. Trends are developing out there that you need to be aware of in your workplace.
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An outpatient surgery patient shows up without an escort to drive him home. Despite the nurse's insistence, the patient indicates he doesn't have anyone who can escort him.
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Under new leadership standards from The Joint Commission (TJC) that take affect in 2009, only hospitals will be required to focus on conflict that may affect safety and quality.
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Two cases from the Canadian Medical Protective Association, a mutual defense organization for 95% of Canadian physicians, illustrate the danger of patients driving home after ambulatory surgery
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Scheduling issues with the operating room. Your facility failing to grow in response to the needs of the community.
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Diagnostic procedures range from easy and unobtrusive (maybe just a quick nasal swab, that's all), to highly obtrusive and uncomfortable (read, colonoscopy), with this spectrum largely determining patient willingness to pursue them.
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Question: Why are our investors not using the surgery center they built after they convinced us to give up our jobs at the local hospital? I am a pretty savvy RN who understands business as well as the next person, but this doesn't make sense. We built out five operating rooms. We are lucky if we are using two, and that is stretching it. Is it us?
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Improper hand washing is the No. 1 way nosocomial infections are spread, says Sharon B. Hampton, MSN, RN, CAPA, patient care nurse manager for the ambulatory care unit, post-anesthesia care unit, pre-op holding unit, short-stay unit, and interventional radiology recovery unit at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
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Maximizing the use of your operating or procedure rooms can positively affect your bottom line. Although staff members can reduce turnover time to increase the number of cases each room can handle, what can you do about no-shows on the day of surgery or physicians who don't use all of the time blocked out for their procedures?
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Ask questions. These words of advice are offered to patients, especially surgical patients, by accreditation organizations, medical societies, health care institutions, and individual physicians.