Operating Room (OR)

Hospitals Boost Sustainability Efforts, Reduce Environmental Impact

The healthcare industry is rife with opportunities to reduce the environmental impact it creates, with the added benefits of institutional financial gain, improved patient outcomes, better staff health and reduced turnover, and community benefit, according to a report from ...More
November 16, 2010
Posted in Articles
Cardinal Health Becomes Founding Partner of National Effort to 'Green' Operating Rooms

Cardinal Health announces that it has joined the group of founding corporate sponsors supporting the Practice Greenhealth Greening the Operating Room (GOR) Initiative, which aims to reduce the environmental footprint of operating suites in hospitals across the country. ...More
November 16, 2010
Posted in News
AORN Invites Members to Comment on Patient Safety Position Statements

The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) is encouraging its members to comment on three patient-safety related position statements. The comment period closes on Nov. 15, 2010. The following position statements are open for comment: AORN Position Statement ...More
October 27, 2010
Posted in News
Cardinal Health Foundation Offers Grants to Improve OR Safety

The Cardinal Health Foundation today announced that, for the fourth consecutive year, it will award more than $1 million in grant funding to help U.S. hospitals, health systems and community health clinics improve the efficiency and quality of care. Earlier this year, the ...More
October 20, 2010
Posted in News
Program for OR Staff That Emphasizes Teamwork Associated With Reductions in Surgical Deaths

Hospitals that had operating room personnel participate in a medical team training program that incorporates practices of aviation crews, such as training in teamwork and communication, had a lower rate of surgical deaths compared to hospitals that did not participate in ...More
October 20, 2010
Posted in News
Updated Surgical Attire Recommended Practice Takes Stronger Stance, Nixes Home Laundering

Although it has always recommended institution laundering of surgical attire, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) is unequivocal on this position in its newly revised Recommended Practices for Surgical Attire, due for release this month. ...More
October 19, 2010
Posted in Articles, PPE & Standard Precautions
Surgical Complications Drop at Hospitals That Share Patient Safety Data

Michigan hospitals reduced surgical complications by nearly 10 percent at a time when the rest of the nation saw no change in complication rates, according to a new study out next week in the Archives of Surgery. Complications dropped at hospitals participating in what's ...More
October 19, 2010
Posted in News
Hospital Comparison Web Site May Not Help Patients Identify the Best Place to Have High-Risk Surgery

Information available on a government Web site designed to help patients choose high-quality hospitals does not appear to help Medicare beneficiaries identify facilities with better outcomes for high-risk surgeries, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of ...More
October 18, 2010
Posted in News
Study Documents Wrong-Site, Wrong-Patient Procedure Errors

Data from one liability insurance database in Colorado indicate that wrong-site and wrong-patient surgical and procedure errors continued to occur despite nationwide steps to help prevent them, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Surgery. “Any ...More
October 18, 2010
Posted in News
No Sponge Left Behind

Using the same technology found in clothing tags used in retail store tracking systems, a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that surgical sponges with implanted radio frequency (RF) tags may be an effective adjunct to manual counting and X-ray ...More
October 5, 2010
Posted in News