News : Lack of accountability and the surgical device kick back scheme

September 7, 2017 / Supply Chain, The Business of Surgery /

This article from Outpatient Surgery Magazine sheds some light on a little known and very disturbing topic surrounding orthopedic implant tracking.  To summarize, a physicians assistant teamed with a an orthopedic implant sales rep and a clinical charge nurse to over order supplies which were never used.  The surgical implants were then sold on illegal secondary […]

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Advocacy Group Calls for Hospitals to Make Joint Commission Compliance Available to Public

October 9, 2017 / Hospital Management, Joint Commission, Regulatory Compliance, The Business of Surgery /

This post by Cheryl Clarke of Health Leaders Media sheds some interesting light on the future level of transparency Hospitals may be required to make public.  Chief among concerns seems to be from patients who are ultimately affected by a hospitals failure to follow compliance guidelines as well as way to prove guidelines were followed,

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Meeting Joint Commission Tissue Tracking Requirements – A Growing Problem

October 9, 2017 / Operating Rooms, Regulatory Compliance, The Business of Surgery /

Creating safe, efficient and accurate Tissue management processes has become a top priority for the perioperative environment. Regulatory requirements designed to protect public safety continue to evolve and expand with the growth of the tissue industry and advances in surgical life saving and life-enhancing procedures. Just how big has the tissue industry gotten?  Today, more

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Classifying Automated Inventory Management Solutions for the Operating Room

September 7, 2017 / Operating Rooms, Supply Chain, The Business of Surgery /

Part 1: Tips to Evaluating Vendors As overall adoption of barcode and RFID technology solutions in the Operating Room environment continues to expand, the market is beginning to feel cluttered with solutions promising extraordinary results. Two Scenarios Faced When Selecting a Vendor Unfortunately Hospitals are often left with a very difficult decision to make when

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ECRI Lists "Cross Contamination from Flexible Endoscopes" in Top 3 Health Technology Hazards 2011

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

Patient cross contamination from the improper handling and reprocessing of flexible endoscopes is a serious issue today and was listed at #3 on ECRI’s list of Top Ten Health Technology Hazards for 2011.  In fact there is no such thing as a minor slip up when it comes to following endoscope reprocessing guidelines, the procedure

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The Real Time Health System: Introducing a Vision

September 7, 2017 / Hospital IT, The Business of Surgery /

Rising medical devices costs, inefficient processes and decreasing  reimbursements might all be mentioned as threats to any hospitals long term sustainability.  As focus and investments are now turned toward creating a hospital environment which is both safe and efficient it is critical that healthcare organizations have a plan.  While true change will ultimately come from

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RFID Enabled Clinical Resource Management Solution Featured in Journal of the American College of Radiology Independent Research Study

August 30, 2017 / Clinical Documentation, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operational Efficiency, Radiology, Revenue Cycle, The Business of Surgery /

The March issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR) features a non sponsored independent research study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital.  The article titled: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for Inventory Management in Neurointerventional Practice, seeks to highlight potential financial advantages, benefits to quality and safety as well as increases in staff

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The Top 5 Reasons Your Hospital’s Operating Room is Leaking Cash

August 30, 2017 / Clinical Documentation, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Operational Efficiency, Revenue Cycle, The Business of Surgery /

1) Missed charges: Hospitals with traditional paper based logging systems typically miss charges on upwards of 30% of total billable items used in cases.  Even more interesting is the fact that hospitals with bar code-based inventory management systems have not solved this problem.  Massachusetts General Hospital was actually able to achieve a 20% increase in

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5 Steps To a Lean Hospital

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

The main guiding principle to Lean Healthcare enabled through technology is to create the right value for our patients, colleagues, physicians and organization as a whole with minimum effort. Simply put,  work smarter, not harder and with a value driven sense of purpose. Everyone should be aware of how their part ties into the organization

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Lean Resource Management Tip #1: How To Get 4X More Value Out of Your Value Analysis Team

August 30, 2017 / 1 Comment / Big Data, Clinical Documentation, Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital IT, Hospital Management, Operational Efficiency, The Business of Surgery /

A Value over Volume Approach Most Healthcare organizations non-salary expense initiatives are focused on lowering the price of the products, services and technologies that they are purchasing. However a word of caution, you are working harder and receiving much less than some of your peers are. It seems our industry has always been so focused

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