The risks and complications of blood transfusion are well documented. One technique commonly used to help reduce the need for bank blood is autotransfusion, also referred to as intraoperative autotransfusion (IAT) or autologous blood transfusion. IAT is a method of collecting the patient’s blood lost during surgery, processing it, and returning it to the patient. This can significantly reduce, or even eliminate the need for blood transfusions, which in turn reduces complications and the cost of care.

SpecialtyCare’s Executive Leadership supports the funding of perfusion education tuition for two students enrolled in CAAHEP-accredited programs. We will begin accepting the next round of applications for the Brown-Brukardt Perfusion Scholarship Program on December 1, 2017. Perfusion is both a vital medical service and a smart career choice. About 350,000 people need open heart surgery and related cardiovascular perfusion support every year. However, hospitals are currently experiencing a perfusionist shortage, and qualified experts are in high demand. We are committed to actively recruiting smart, motivated men and women into the field to ensure that surgeons and patients have skilled perfusion care available when they need it most.

When a person is under medical care, the patient and his loved ones need to trust that the practitioner is educated, licensed, and trained in the specialty. And that’s where medical staff professionals (MSPs) come in. We maintain credentialing and licensure information, implement federal rulings and accrediting standards, and enforce the rules, regulations, and policies that govern the activities of medical staff. More than 2,000 MSPs gathered recently for the 41st National Association Medical Staff Services Educational Conference & Exhibition in Colorado Springs. The event was the perfect run-up to National Medical Staff Services Awareness Week, so I’d like to offer a recap of the conference as we celebrate the team at SpecialtyCare, and their counterparts all across the country, who work hard behind the scenes to ensure patient health and safety.

On November 3rd, we were honored to accept the 2017 Delaware Valley Patient Safety & Quality Award from The Health Care Improvement Foundation for our submission, “Implementation of a Patient Blood Management Program,” which outlines the integration of patient blood management (PBM) as a daily, embedded quality improvement strategy at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (TJUH). The project was evaluated on evidence of significant and sustained improvement in quality, patient safety, innovation, and the potential for replication in other healthcare organizations. As an outsourced provider of PBM implementation, we are thrilled to share in TJUH’s success and we applaud its leadership and organizational commitment to improvement.

In Puerto Rico—more than one month after Hurricane Maria devastated the island—many communities still lack the water, electricity, pharmaceuticals, communications, transportation, and other resources needed to sustain life and care for patients. At Hospital Español Auxilio Mutuo in San Juan, our cardiac perfusion team works under these challenging conditions to provide medical care, which has included a successful aortic dissection repair performed with the patient under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest while the hospital was on generator power.

Mitigating risk is top of mind in healthcare right now. The OR Excellence Conference hit this topic and many more head-on during its 9th annual gathering in Las Vegas. With 400 OR professionals in attendance, the conference curriculum focused on hospitals improving clinical outcomes, expanding caseloads, growing more profitable, and protecting staff and assets, all in an innovative and interactive learning format. Attendees are constantly looking for ways to protect their patients, succeed economically, and position their hospitals for the future while mitigating the risk of moving away from volume-based reimbursement to value-based care tied specifically to improving patient outcomes and minimizing clinical variation.

The OR Manager Conference is the premier executive-level event for OR directors and OR business managers concerned with management of the surgical suite, and is dedicated to providing industry solutions and leading best practices. With 1,400 executive OR professionals in attendance, the focus this year was to improve efficiency and affectivity with sessions on patient safety, infection control, OR flow, staff motivation, and leadership. All of these topics were discussed in keynotes, in sessions, in networking events, and in the exhibit hall in the context of preparing strong OR leaders for the unpredictable climate we’re currently experiencing in healthcare.

Data-driven, metric-based healthcare is required in today’s value-based environment and essential for sound decision-making. Without it, you’re simply guessing. Cost reductions and real increases in volume, efficiency, and ultimately revenue can be achieved when data and analytics are at your fingertips. That’s why we are excited to introduce SpecialtyCare OptimizeOR™, a user-friendly decision support and analytics system that helps OR managers improve productivity in perioperative performance. OptimizeOR software pulls your key performance measures into an easy-to-use online interface so that you can better manage resources for improved scheduling, staff allocation, and supply utilization. Optimized resource management makes space for increased case volume, minimizes inefficiency, reduces unnecessary spending, and drives patient and surgeon satisfaction.

When hosts of the two most prominent perfusion education conferences join forces to create a single premier event, you can count on a four-day learning experience like you’ve never attended before—and that’s what SpecialtyCare and Perfusion.com have planned in 2018. For 30 years, SpecialtyCare hosted Mechanisms of Perfusion, one of the industry’s most highly regarded advanced learning forums. The Sanibel Symposium, hosted by Perfusion.com, has also earned a reputation as an elite, highly attended meeting, both in person and via their live webcasts. So, we are thrilled to now combine our expertise and resources to present The 2018 Sanibel Symposium, an unparalleled cardiac perfusion learning event at the Sanibel Marriott Resort and Spa in Ft. Myers, Florida, April 4-7, 2018.

In healthcare, the sweet spot is the perfect balance of healthcare spending and patient outcomes. It’s the place of equilibrium that features just the right type and degree of patient care while avoiding the cost and potential harm of unnecessary interventions. Some providers have learned that balancing both clinical and economic concerns must begin on the most basic level—with a check of the patient’s blood health—and implementation of effective patient blood management (PBM) strategies.