One of outpatient surgery's hottest specialties is fueling the rise of spinal anesthesia. "Before we performed total joints in surgery centers, we hadn't utilized spinal anestesia...

The sun was shining on a warm March day as I walked across the parking lot of my son's school. Hours earlier, the governor of Pennsylvania had called off classes to help...

Surgeries can be splashy, messy affairs. Floor-based fluid management mats and pads are a more effective and economical option than throwing blankets, towels or...

From late physicians to cases going longer than expected, you can't control the many factors that lead to lengthy, frustrating surgical delays. But you can control how well...

The coronavirus has ground outpatient surgeries to a halt. As the nationwide response to the outbreak enters its second month, every possible healthcare resource is being...

The patient came in for a cystoscopy, a common outpatient procedure that only requires a person to be on the table for about 25 minutes. But the procedure does...

Patient satisfaction surveys and comments from providers trying to communicate with patients indicated that the ambient noise in our small pre/post-operative area was...

We use a free game app (kahoot.com) to turn ho-hum staff meetings into fun, interactive learning sessions. It's easy to input a series of multiple choice or true-false...

Humidity levels in your ORs should be between 30% and 60%, a range that can be difficult to maintain. That's why I had our HVAC company install a computer program...

Behind Closed Doors: Full Moon Fever; I'm convinced Nurse Luna is to blame for odd OR occurrences.

Hillrom says its Welch Allyn Spot Vital Signs 4400 device combines a wide breadth of functionality with time-saving efficiency. The device captures temperature,...

Looking for a fun and effective way to weigh less? Hold your own "Biggest Loser" competition and award the staff members who shed the most pounds....

The sterile processing department is not an easy place to work. If you want to make sure new sterile processing techs mesh well with the current team and...

John Hovanesian, MD, an ophthalmologist at Harvard Eye Associates in Laguna Hills, Calif., sends all his cataract patients opened-ended survey questions, asking them...

With all the pressure central sterile staff are under to keep cases flowing through high-volume facilities, the last thing you want to do is give them an excuse to avoid...

Amid our nation's opioid crisis, providers are shifting their focus to formulations and methods that make post-op pain more bearable instead of eliminating it completely....

Over the past few years, a number of employees who work in our health system's outpatient surgery center have become new moms. When they returned...

Healthier Eating Is Within Reach; Patients who optimize their pre-op nutrition are rewarded with better outcomes.

Don't Sweat Accreditation Surveys; Planning and practice will have you prepared instead of panicked when surveyors come calling.

It's not that difficult to learn from your mistakes. All it takes is gathering your nurses and surgical techs for a half-hour meeting every few months to talk about errors...