Same-Day Surgery
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Freestanding EDs and urgent care centers as new sources of surgical referrals
One question I’m frequently asked is how to increase referrals to surgeons in the hospital or freestanding ambulatory surgery center (ASC) arenas.
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Serratia outbreak linked to drug diversion
A former nurse at the University of Wisconsin (UW) Hospital and Clinics in Madison, who allegedly diverted pain medication for personal use, might be linked to a cluster of infections among patients in the units where she worked, UW officials say.
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Nationwide focus is growing on issues surrounding injection safety
There is an increasing focus on safe use of needles and vials, which was the subject of a Sentinel Event Alert from The Joint Commission last year, says Vicki Allen, MSN, RN, CIC, infection prevention coordinator at Beaufort (SC) Memorial Hospital.1
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Trail of tears: Fired drug-diverting workers free to find another healthcare facility
A nurse stealing morphine by replacing it with saline in a medication vial might not have realized she was colonized with Serratia marcescens, a gram negative bacteria that would soon find its way into the bloodstreams of a cluster of patients administered the contaminated solution. The insult of denied pain treatment was followed by the injury of infection, which proved fatal in one patient. That scenario is under investigation at a Wisconsin hospital, the latest in a series of outbreaks linked to drug-diverting healthcare workers. (See second story that follows.)
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Adverse Events Can Happen When Staff Try to Maintain Equipment
The incident started with good intentions.
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AAAHC’s hospital/health system group accredits its first hospital
The Accreditation Association for Hospitals/Health Systems (AAHHS) in Skokie, IL, recently presented its inaugural accreditation certificate to Sioux Falls Specialty Hospital in South Dakota.
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MedPAC finalizes 2016 payment recommendations
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) approved a recommendation that ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) receive a 0% increase in payment rates for 2016. The commission once again approved a recommendation that ASCs be directed to report cost data.
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Joint communication addresses challenge of humidity levels, medical equipment in the OR
With more organizations lowering the relative humidity levels in operating rooms (ORs), there are concerns about the impact on sterile supplies and electro-medical equipment. A multi-society communication, organized by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), aims to help leaders determine whether a lower humidity level is appropriate.
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System settles false claim charges for $37 million
The healthcare system involved in a false claims investigation prompted by a former employee blowing the whistle has settled the case. Dignity Health hospital system, based in San Francisco, has agreed to pay $37 million to settle the charges.
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Simulated IV fluids were shipped to surgery centers
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are investigating multiple instances of Wallcur’s simulated intravenous (IV) saline products being administered to patients. These products are not sterile and should not be injected in humans or animals, the CDC says.