A Dallas anesthesiologist has been arrested for injecting several IV bags of saline with two local anesthetics and a powerful stimulant that led to the death of his colleague and caused several cardiac events in patients....

Grant Shifflett, MD, has a simple way to sum up the importance of positioning patients correctly for spine surgery. “Proper positioning is as important as the surgical...

In 2019, my then 75-year-old mother fell down a steep flight of stairs while visiting friends at a New York City apartment. It was a violent trauma that left her with multiple...

With a targeted treatment plan in place, your patients won’t need to rely on complication-laden, potentially addictive opioids to recovery from painful and traumatic...

Healthy patients fearful of COVID-19 exposure in a hospital are flocking to ambulatory surgery centers and specialty hospitals for their hip and knee replacements, creating...

Surgical instruments that are of poor quality or improperly maintained can fail during procedures, an alarming occurrence that jeopardizes outcomes...

Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City has contributed $20,000 to Valley Regional Transit to expand its Rides2Wellness Program, which helps people get to their medical appointments by providing free transportation....

The Paula Awards are back, arguably the most prestigious satirical awards presentation in all the trades. It’s fitting, isn’t it? After all, the bulk of this magazine’s September issue is always dedicated...

Pre-op anxiety in patients is a common medical concern that is often ignored. Reducing preoperative anxiety is a key indicator of postoperative outcomes. When a patient feels anxious, their hormone levels...

Cynthia Hawks, BSN, RN, CNOR, CSSM, surgical clinical coordinator for neurology and ENT at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center in Shenandoah, Texas, has had a copy of the April 2020 issue of Outpatient Surgery...

As the current U.S. inflation rate approaches 10%, ambulatory surgery centers are already facing financial pressure from expenses for goods and services and staffing costs. So while CMS has proposed an increase...

The Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA) recently hosted a webinar during which three guest speakers discussed strategies to maintain individual positivity and enhance the culture of the workgroup. One of...

You’d be hard-pressed to find surgical leaders who aren’t directly impacted by the nationwide staffing crisis. Over the last five years, hiring qualified professionals to work in the surgical industry has become a difficult task....

In the main OR at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City, surgical instruments were consistently going missing, so a multidisciplinary team sought to pinpoint the source of the issue and correct it. The result...

Ensuring that reprocessed endoscopes are completely dry during storage remains an important patient safety topic in the world of endoscopy. Residual moisture in and around endoscopes promotes the growth...

One of the best ways to fight back against the notion that high-volume procedures at busy facilities are the epitome of impersonal, assembly-line care is to add a personal touch whenever possible. Even the smallest efforts...

Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y., recently opened the Pediatric Surgical Operating Complex, a $110 million, 24,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility where surgeons perform cardiothoracic, neurologic,...

Surgical teams take great care in cleaning surfaces, prepping the patient’s skin and making sure barrier protection is in place to reduce the risks of surgical site infections (SSIs). That might not be enough to address what's wafting in the air...

No industry has been untouched by the Great Resignation, with organizations of all sizes and kinds struggling to retain their best employees — forget finding new talent to fill open positions. The healthcare field has been particularly hard hit...

Any patient arriving on the day of their surgery is going to be anxious. That anxiety will only grow, and their satisfaction will decline, if their surgery is delayed because of inefficient room turnover times. Getting ORs ready for the next case...