Leverage Your Electronic Medical Record Investment – You Only Spent Billions

August 30, 2017 / Big Data, Clinical Documentation, Hospital Finance, Hospital IT, Hospital Management, Operational Efficiency, The Business of Surgery /

You’ve seen the reports of larger healthcare systems and their investments into Electronic Medical Records (“EMR”). Most are spending hundreds of millions of dollars, and many are spending over a billion dollars!  This includes the actual software modules of the EMR, vendor labor-hours spent implementing the project, consultants, your hospital IT budget, servers, and so […]

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Why The Joint Commission Is Hung Up On Scopes

October 9, 2017 / Infection Control, Joint Commission, Managing Endoscopes, Operating Rooms, Patient Safety, Regulatory Compliance /

In recent surveys, The Joint Commission has scrutinized the entire endoscope management process. Everyone understands this is because of the serious patient safety concerns and media attention, as well as the manufacturers of scopes and reprocessors having their own product challenges. So why is The Joint Commission so hung up on how scopes are hung

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3 Dangers of Expired Medical Devices

October 5, 2021 / Cath Lab, Operating Rooms, Operational Efficiency, Patient Safety, Radiology, The Business of Surgery /

A recent survey conducted by Cardinal Health showed that 24% of hospital staff have seen or heard of an expired product being used on a patient during a procedure.  This comes as no surprise, as we have witnessed the usage of expired inventory at hospitals first-hand.  Without the proper processes and vigilance to prevent these

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Is Your Endoscope Management Practice Accountable?

October 9, 2017 / Infection Control, Joint Commission, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety /

In working with various hospitals across the country, particularly with their scope management practice, we are seeing that all caregivers absolutely have the intention of delivering at the highest level of quality and safety. As organization leaders, it is our job to help our team members meet these important goals. In working with these provider

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The Cost of Hospital Waste

August 30, 2017 / Cath Lab, Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Radiology, Supply Chain, The Business of Surgery /

Each year, the US healthcare system wastes $765 billion according to a 2012 National Academy of Medicine study. According to the same study, that total eclipses the annual budget of the Defense Department and the amount could be used to cover the insurance coverage of 150 million American workers. While the numbers are staggering, there

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Olympus Scopes Tied To Another Outbreak

August 30, 2017 / Infection Control, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety /

Newly found evidence has revealed that Olympus duodenoscopes have been tied to another infection outbreak.  Per the report filed with the FDA, a foreign facility saw five of its patients who were treated with Olympus duodenoscopes infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae.  The facility’s name and location were not included in the report, however it was reported

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Using Surgeon Scorecards To Drive Down Costs In the OR

August 30, 2017 / Big Data, Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Operational Efficiency, The Business of Surgery /

Recent studies have shown a strong link between sharing pricing data with physicians and a resulting drop in case costs.  The latest study to show this link was recently published in March 2017 in JAMA.  According to JAMA, the OR Surgical Cost Reduction (OR SCORE) project was conducted in a single health system with multiple

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Are Duodenoscopes Safe To Use?

August 30, 2017 / Infection Control, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety /

Many eyebrows were raised following 2016’s recall of duodenoscope model TJF-Q180V by Olympus.  The voluntary recall was intended to replace the problematic elevator channel sealing mechanisms in the 4,400 Olympus duodenoscopes that were issued prior to 510k clearance for the device.  Olympus planned to complete the recall by August 2016 and also planned to conduct

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ECRI List of 2017 Patient Safety Concerns Includes Inadequate Safety and Quality Systems

August 30, 2017 / Hospital Management, Infection Control, Managing Endoscopes, Patient Safety, Regulatory Compliance /

ECRI Institute’s annual list of patient safety concerns has been released.  One concern missing from the list that has been a staple for several years is the infection risk associated with inadequate cleaning of flexible endoscopes. With the number of incidences being reported by hospitals and the associated changes to scopes being issued by the

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How to Get More Value Out of Your EHR Implementation

August 30, 2017 / Big Data, Clinical Documentation, Hospital Finance, Hospital IT, Hospital Management, Operational Efficiency, The Business of Surgery /

Many US hospitals are now reaching the end of their electronic health records roll-outs.  Companies such as Epic and Cerner have reaped large windfalls from these implementations at most hospitals across the country.  While the software companies have benefited greatly from the implementations, many hospitals are left scratching their heads about how best to take

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