The Importance of Visual Inspection for Endoscope Reprocessing

October 12, 2021 / Infection Control, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety, Regulatory Compliance /

Visual inspection has emerged in recent years as an important quality assurance step during endoscope reprocessing. Updated guidelines from AAMI, AORN and SGNA have all included a visual inspection step during the disinfection process to ensure that scopes are being thoroughly prepared for the next patient. All three standards organizations have come out in support […]

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Falling Short of Your Cost Reduction Goals? You’re Not Alone

October 25, 2017 / Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operational Efficiency, Supply Chain, The Business of Surgery /

A recent survey by Kaufman, Hall & Associates has revealed that most hospital executives feel that they are falling short of their cost reduction goals.  They survey of over 150 senior hospital executives revealed that 75% of the respondents felt that their cost transformation success has been average to below average. The move from volume

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How To Maximize Revenue With Clinical Documentation Improvements

October 23, 2017 / Clinical Documentation, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operational Efficiency, Revenue Cycle, The Business of Surgery /

With the healthcare payment market continually in flux, hospitals are doing all they can to maximize the revenue that they receive for their work. Not a dollar can slip through the cracks with the narrow margins that most hospitals are operating at. Many hospitals have recognized the merits of a strong clinical documentation improvement (CDI)

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New Research On Endoscope Disinfection Reveals Importance of Forced Air Drying

October 20, 2017 / Infection Control, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety, Regulatory Compliance /

A new study into the cleanliness of endoscopes following high level disinfection has revealed some important findings.  The research team, headed by Dr. Adarsh Thaker at UCLA, used specialized digital video cameras to perform visual inspection on 59 duodenoscopes, gastroscopes, echoendoscopes and colonoscopes after manual cleaning and high level disinfection. Each visual inspection included a

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Best Practices for Integrating Implant Management Software With Your Materials Management System

October 16, 2017 / Hospital IT, Operational Efficiency, Supply Chain, The Business of Surgery /

A materials management system plays a vital part of any hospital because it is accountable for all the inventory that is stored inhouse and is the source of information pertaining to any material that is used in a hospital. These systems, like PeopleSoft, Lawson or Infor, manage vendor contracts, maintain pricing, identify consigned or owned

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Establishing a Successful Scope Management Strategy

September 21, 2018 / Hospital Management, Infection Control, Joint Commission, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety, Regulatory Compliance /

Hospitals and healthcare providers are under increased scrutiny by The Joint Commission (TJC), the FDA, DNV and even Congress to improve the documentation practices around flexible endoscope usage. There are articles in the media seemingly every day about how an endoscope manufacturer or a hospital was cited, sued or otherwise put in a negative light

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Meeting Joint Commission Tissue Tracking Requirements

October 7, 2021 / Clinical Documentation, Joint Commission, Operating Rooms, Operational Efficiency, Regulatory Compliance, The Business of Surgery, Tissue Management /

Creating safe, efficient and accurate tissue management processes has become a top priority for PeriOperative departments across the country. Regulatory requirements designed to protect patients continue to evolve and expand with the growth of tissue usage and advances in surgical life-saving and life-enhancing procedures. Approximately 1.75 million people are currently receiving tissue implants annually just

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Return Clinician Time To Patients With EMR Improvements

March 6, 2018 / Big Data, Clinical Documentation, Hospital IT, Hospital Management, Operational Efficiency, The Business of Surgery /

Physicians and other clinicians in hospitals have been increasingly vocal about their frustration with the time they are spending documenting encounters in EMRs instead of focusing on patient care.  Backing up that claim is a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that found that only 27% of the average day is spent by

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FDA Clears Pentax Duodenoscope With Disposable Cap To Advance Safety

October 3, 2017 / Infection Control, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety, Regulatory Compliance /

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently cleared the first duodenoscope with a disposable distal cap.  It is believed that the new feature will improve access for cleaning and reprocessing of duodenoscopes, leading to improved patient safety.  The Pentax model ED34-i10T duodenoscope is being released following a field correction issued earlier in 2017

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Are Public Inspection Reports Coming?

October 9, 2017 / Hospital Management, Infection Control, Joint Commission, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety, Regulatory Compliance /

Following the Wall Street Journal article that questioned the validity of The Joint Commission’s accreditation practices, the government has stepped up inquiries into the hospital accreditation process. The Joint Commission, as the largest accreditation agency, is now under increased scrutiny and hospitals may be exposed as a result. Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) has sent a

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