ASGE Releases New Infection Control Guidelines For Endoscopy

October 6, 2021 / Hospital Management, Infection Control, Joint Commission, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety, Regulatory Compliance /

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy recently released guidelines for infection control during GI endoscopy and related procedures. The guidelines come at a time when reports of endoscope-related infections are becoming more prevalent in the media. While the overall incidences of such infections are rarely reported, there is a strong possibility of underreporting of adverse […]

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FDA Issues Warning On Multi-Patient Endoscope Connectors

May 2, 2018 / Infection Control, Joint Commission, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety, Regulatory Compliance /

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released a public alert that warned about the risk of cross-contamination from the use of certain endoscope connectors commonly seen in gastrointestinal endoscopy. The alert primarily points out the risks associated with the use of 24-hour multi-patient use endoscope connectors that are labeled for use with multiple

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Hospitals Still Struggle To Combat Infectious Bacteria In Their Scopes

April 25, 2018 / Hospital Management, Infection Control, Joint Commission, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety /

Recent research has once again shined the spotlight on the struggle hospitals face to rid their reusable medical endoscopes of dangerous bacteria. In this particular study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, 71% of “patient-ready” scopes at 3 major US hospitals tested positive for bacteria. The study found problems in various types of

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How Supply Price Inaccuracies Can Affect The Bottom Line

June 4, 2018 / Big Data, Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital IT, Hospital Management, Operational Efficiency, Supply Chain, The Business of Surgery /

Due to the nature of how hospitals and health systems acquire supplies, product prices are constantly changing. Different hospitals in the same health system, and even different departments within the same hospital, may be paying different rates for the same items, and those prices are typically in flux. With supply chains and individual departments within

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Supply Stock-Outs Have An Outsized Effect On The Bottom Line

April 4, 2018 / Cath Lab, Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Operational Efficiency, Patient Safety, Radiology, The Business of Surgery /

A recent survey conducted by Cardinal Health showed that 40% of hospital staff have cancelled a case due to an out-of-stock supply, and 69% of staff have had to delay a case while a missing supply is being tracked down. Having spoken to hundreds of staff in operating rooms, cath labs and interventional radiology labs,

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Duodenoscope Surveillance Protocols Released By FDA and CDC

March 28, 2018 / Infection Control, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety, Regulatory Compliance /

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Society for Microbiology (ASM), along with other endoscope culturing experts, recently announced the availability of voluntary, standardized protocols that were developed for duodenoscope surveillance sampling and culturing. As noted by the FDA: “Hospitals and health care facilities that utilize

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Accreditation Firms Like Joint Commission Receive Further Scrutiny From Congress

March 22, 2018 / Hospital Management, Infection Control, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety, Regulatory Compliance /

Following the publication of a Wall Street Journal article last year, hospital accreditation organizations have received unwanted attention from the US Government. Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have requested additional information from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and 4 major hospital accreditation organizations regarding their processes. Concerned with CMS’

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FDA Issues Warning To Duodenscope Manufacturers

March 4, 2020 / Infection Control, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety, Regulatory Compliance /

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a warning to all three major duodenoscope manufacturers. The warnings were sent due to the failure of Olympus, Pentax and Fujifilm to comply with postmarket surveillance study requirements set with them by the FDA in 2015. During the FDA’s investigation of duodenoscope-related infections in 2015,

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Disappointed With The ROI From Your EHR Investment? You’re Not Alone

February 26, 2018 / Big Data, Clinical Documentation, Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital IT, Hospital Management, Operational Efficiency, Revenue Cycle, The Business of Surgery /

Yet another study has been published showing the disappointing return on investment that hospitals are experiencing with their electronic health record (EHR) implementations. The new study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), showed that the costs of administering billing and insurance-related functions may actually have increased following EHR roll-outs. This is

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The Key To Figuring Out Your Cost Per Case

October 5, 2021 / Big Data, Cath Lab, Clinical Documentation, Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital IT, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Operational Efficiency, Radiology, Revenue Cycle, Supply Chain, The Business of Surgery /

Historically, the cost of a surgical procedure has been a difficult equation to solve. As the US healthcare system moves more and more toward a value-based system, hospitals require now more than ever an accurate understanding of their procedure costs. These accurate procedure costs then need to be compared to outcomes in order to perform

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