OR Manager - January 2018 - 32

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At a Glance
Joint Commission offers
accreditation, compliance help
The Joint Commission has released
a new software tool, " Tracers with
AMPTM plus CMS. "
The tool was designed to help hospitals
and critical access hospitals manage
their Joint Commission accreditation
and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) compliance efforts.
Using this tool, organizations can:
* access pre-populated CMS tracer
templates that help identify critical
CMS items
* analyze performance against CMS
regulations
* conduct compliance self-assessment,
cross-referencing A-tags and
C-tags
* manage a plan of correction if an organization
receives a CMS violation.
-https://www.jointcommission.org/
issues/article.aspx?Article=PgySrMdGE
m0mlFsPLEcCY2Y7V0TywASqiKL8e9qP
U%2fQ%3d
Cost-benefit analysis of OR air
change rates
Increasing OR ventilation rates to improve
outcomes and reduce surgical
site infections did not provide cleaner
air but did increase operating costs in
this study.
Air quality was measured at different
ventilation rates in three ORs. Increasing
air change rates did not provide an
overall cleaner environment. Significant
differences in microbial load and air velocity
were detected between the sterile
field and back instrument tables, which
could lead to contamination of instruments.
Estimates
of the financial cost of
higher OR ventilation rates found substantially
increased energy consumption
and costs.
Efficient distribution or management
of the air can improve quality indicators
and potentially reduce the number of air
changes required, the authors say.
-Gormley T, Markel T A, Jones H, et al.
Am J Infect Control. 2017;45(12),13181323.
Surgical
outcomes data shed
light on quality
This analysis of 10 surgical procedures
accrued into the American College of
Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement
Program between 2008 and
2015 identified which procedures improved
the most from quality improvement
(QI) efforts and which needed
more.
The researches analyzed outcomes
for colectomy, esophagectomy, hepatectomy,
hysterectomy, pancreatectomy,
proctectomy, total hip arthroplasty, total
knee arthroplasty, thyroidectomy, and
ventral hernia repair.
Hepatectomy showed the most improvement
across the greatest number
of outcomes (4 of 6), and urinary
tract infection rates improved across
the greatest number of procedures (8
of 10). Surgical site infection rates after
pancreatectomy significantly increased,
however, identifying an urgent need for
additional concerted QI efforts.
-Liu J B, Berian J R, Liu Y, et al. J
Am Coll Surg. Published online November
28, 2017.
Large shift in cataract surgery
from hospitals to ASCs
National data show a large shift in cataract
surgeries from hospitals to less
expensive ambulatory surgery centers
(ASCs), where care can be delivered
faster and closer to home, this study
finds.
From 2001 to 2014, the proportion
of cataract surgeries performed at ASCs
increased steadily from 43.6% to 73%.
The analysis included 369,320 patients
in a nationwide managed care network
who had cataract surgery.
Future research is needed to assess
the effect of this transition to ASCs on
patient access to surgery, outcomes,
patient safety, and costs, the researchers
note.
-Stagg B C, Talwar N, Mattox C, et al.
JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online November
22, 2017.
32
OR Manager | January 2018
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OR Manager - January 2018

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