Advocating for Safer Surgery- Principle #1: Communication
In surgical teams, health professionals are highly interdependent and must work under time pressure. It is of particular importance that teamwork is well-functioning in order to achieve quality care and patient safety. This is why communication is the first principle…
Hillsboro High Students Scrub Up at SpecialtyCare
PENCIL is a terrific organization that helps Metro Nashville Public School students achieve academic and future success. As a proud PENCIL Partner, SpecialtyCare regularly hosts students from Hillsboro High School’s Academy of Global Health & Science. Our fully equipped simulation operating room, or Sim OR, which is used to train our staff, provides the perfect environment to introduce the students to life as a member of a surgical team. Our Nashville IONM Operational Leadership and the IONM Education Team have designed an elite experience for the students to actively learn about electrophysiology and participate in a virtual surgical procedure that utilizes intraoperative neuromonitoring to assist the surgeon and keep the patient safe during surgery.
Answering the Call When Tragedy Strikes
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.
The 30th Annual OR Manager Conference in Orlando: Turning Healthcare...
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.
No Debate Needed: Compliance Violations Increase Healthcare Costs
A complex system offers a lot of places to hide bad behavior. Medicare and Medicaid—programs at the heart of the current healthcare debate—are particularly vulnerable to violations of Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the False Claims Act. Nearly every day, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issues details of individuals and hospitals being charged or convicted of healthcare fraud and abuse. Financial penalties and the possibility of imprisonment aside, damning headlines can destroy the bottom line and reputation of even the most respected providers. Compliance violations drive up healthcare costs and compromise patients who are overcharged or subjected to unnecessary tests and treatments.