Outpatient Surgery Magazine Archive

Recently, Edward Oates, MD, a trauma and orthopedic surgeon in Germany, posted a question to #orthotwitter: “How do you avoid cuts to your distal interphalangeal joints when using suture thread?” After many providers replied...

A complaint about the behavior of a staff member will hopefully never get to the point where it’s heard by a jury, but you should know how to conduct a thorough, professional and well-documented investigation...

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are among the most common and costly of all healthcare complications, yet as many as half are considered preventable. While costs of treating SSIs vary widely based on the degree of infection...

Pressure injury prevention isn’t just about using the right positioning aids. It’s an ever-continuing process of monitoring, documentation, education, investigation, risk assessment and process improvement. A dedicated, interdisciplinary team...

Surgeons are often compared to elite competitive athletes, but perhaps professional dancer is more appropriate — at least when it comes understanding the ergonomic and musculoskeletal issues physicians face throughout their careers....

About 45 minutes before surgery, Joseph Nessler, MD, will stop by pre-op to mark the correct surgical site of his total joint patients. He’ll say hello, note his initials where he intends to cut and ask if the patient has any last-minute questions....

Some time ago, an experiment was designed to get patients to be more active during their post-surgical recoveries by using pedometers. Everyone in the controlled study was given their weekly pedometer data, but half were given...

Last month, AORN’s staff gathered at its Denver headquarters for an organizational enterprise meeting. We caught up with colleagues outside of our screens and met others for the first time in person. It was an energizing....

Surgery centers are in line to capture a sizable number of cases as insurers and providers look to shift more complex procedures out of hospital ORs. As the migration of surgeries to same-day settings continues to...

My hospital’s sterile processing department is responsible for turning around 1,500 instrument trays a day. Our surgeons specialize in a variety of orthopedic procedures, including total joints and spine, so our reprocessing techs...