Outpatient Surgery Magazine Archive

Your staff must know how to immediately respond if a patient’s airway catches fire, surgical equipment starts to spark or flames erupt in the sterile field. It’s helpful to designate specific roles for each surgical team member...

The 2022 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and ASC Payment System proposed by CMS is filled with changes that are more curious than cause for serious concern. CMS, which ultimately intends to slow...

Many of you have learned, implemented, tweaked and documented new cleaning practices and infection control protocols — measures that seemingly changed from week to week — to keep your patients and staff safe...

Many patients at Einstein Endoscopy Center in Blue Bell, Pa., leave behind the no-slip socks they’re provided. “The socks are used only for a couple of hours, and we used to throw them away, but, at the suggestion of a patient,...

When linens were in short supply during COVID-19, staff at Houston Physicians’ Hospital (HPH) struggled to procure enough cotton blankets to keep their patients warm. When they reached out to vendors to try to obtain more...

Surgeons at Houston Premier Surgery Center in The Villages sign surgical sites in pre-op and huddle with the surgical team in the OR to make sure they signed the correct spot. It’s often a straightforward process, but orthopedic...

Reprocessing techs at outpatient ophthalmic facilities don’t often deal with grossly contaminated instruments, so it helps to alert them when tools are in need of extra attention before sterilization. “Enzymatic detergents...

Asking patients to follow strict NPO restrictions is no longer commonplace — and for good reason. Allowing patients to drink clear fluids up to two hours before their scheduled procedures keeps them hydrated, reduces...

Reading about a wide range of topics and people helps to build awareness about the importance of cultural diversity, says Crystal N. Johnson-Mann, MD, an assistant professor of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery...

SeeSee Rigney is something else. I’ve followed the twilight of her surgical nursing career that has spanned seven decades through online articles and features on national...