Surgical site infections (SSIs) can be reduced when leaders standardize the preoperative skin preparation solutions and protocols their...

The road to poor infection prevention practices is often paved with good intentions from staff. That’s why Michelle Barron, MD, is such a...

During the pandemic — and even before the arrival of COVID-19 — many healthcare facilities tapped into the high-tech power of whole room...

One thing that the COVID-19 pandemic did was put infection preventionists (IPs) front and center....

Like many ASCs, OAM Surgery Center at MidTowne in Grand Rapids, Mich., is concerned about unnecessary traffic going in and out of its ORs....

Getting your OR to remember all relevant surgical site infection (SSI) prevention protocols isn’t always easy — especially for the facilities with...

In the past five years, a flood of literature on surgical smoke hazards has confirmed what nurses and surgeons have been complaining about and, in extreme cases...

A healthy patient population is a cornerstone of outpatient surgery. Those fortunate enough to be greenlighted for same-day procedures get to...

Just because an instrument has been reprocessed doesn’t mean that it’s clean. In some cases, that’s because reprocessing techs are rushing and forced...

Accreditation is much more than a simple stamp of approval. It’s evidence your facility has met meticulous, nationally recognized standards of quality, patient care and safety....

There’s nothing easy about cleaning flexible endoscopes. They’re fragile and expensive and one can argue the margin for reprocessing them safely is...

Virtually every article, webinar or how-to guide on flexible endoscope reprocessing includes some version of this advice: Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s Instructions For Use (IFU)....

Successful wound care is about staying true to the basics. Not every surgical wound will need an antimicrobial dressing or wound vac. But paying special attention to closing every surgical site properly...

Jesse Hixson, MSN, RN, CNOR, administrator for the Monroeville (Pa.) Surgery Center, expected orthopedic and cataract surgeons to be extremely discerning and opinionated about the surgical gloves they used....

Infection prevention procedures have always been a key focus during on-site inspections, and their importance has only intensified since the pandemic began in 2020. Here’s what surveyors will be looking for...

Flexible endoscope care is a complex, multilayered process rife with opportunities for errors and missed steps....

My hospital’s sterile processing department is responsible for turning around 1,500 instrument trays a day, and we take every measure possible to ensure...

With the surge in joint replacements and other orthopedic surgeries moving to ambulatory care, ASCs also face a higher risk for surgical site infections (SSIs)....

The $1.7 trillion federal spending package passed by the lame-duck Congress last month includes a 2% reduction in physicians’ pay for Medicare cases, which experts in the same-day surgical industry say will have multiple immediate negative...

From the time a patient schedules their surgery at your facility to the time they leave the PACU to head home, they’re quietly grading your every move....