May 2008 - Healthcare Purchasing News

INSIDE THE CURRENT ISSUE

May 2008

News

Cart smarts:
Workflow-driven innovations ready to roll

From a supply chain management perspective, carts represent one of the tried and true workhorses of the profession – and the industry. But they have progressed beyond just being a stack of shelves festooned to casters. Not only are healthcare facilities creatively designing and organizing these transportation vehicles, but manufacturers are equipping them with some of the latest tools and tricks viewed as useful enhancements and features for bottom line results.

Mission critical for supply management

Ask a critical care nurse about
materials management’s customer service or ask a materials manager about ICU’s supply demands and you’ll likely generate some eye rolling and sighs, followed by complaints. "Materials management doesn’t understand the ICU’s needs; the ICU makes too many demands without any forecasting or predictive planning." It doesn’t have to be this way. Read why and how.

Operating Room

Fanning the flames of surgical fire prevention

Shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater earns you serious legal repercussions. Shouting "Fire!" in a surgical suite – whether in the room, on the patient or in the patient – can do the same but also can hold a patient’s life and well-being in the balance – not to mention the doctors and nurses in the room. How does a facility protect itself and its surgical patients?

Infection Connection

ICP salary gains reflect quality drive, safety influence

While salaries for infection control practitioners continue to grow at a steady pace, the stage is set for these key players in healthcare quality and safety to see bigger gains as they begin to wield greater influence in their facilities.

Infection Protection
VAP prevention
by Suzanne Pear, RN, PhD,CIC

Self Study Series
The optimal selection and use of surgicalinstrument lubricants

CS Solutions
Policy vs. procedure? Wrapped packages in containers?

Products and Services

Sterilizer Indicator Guide:
Trio of tools needed for effective process monitoring

Although the purpose of sterilization — to kill living organisms – may seem cut and dry to some, sterile processing and surgical services professionals can attest that there’s much more to reaching that goal than meets the eye. The key? Process challenge devices.

What Works
Supply recycling donations

New Products

People & Opinions

Be the servant leader of your hospital
by Marc Higgins

Fast Foreward

Baseline
When a Golden Flash is Rusty
by Fred Crans

Captial Gains
Preventing data’s disappearing act
by Irwin Baker

Back Talk
Making a case for fully integrated case carts
by David Kaczmarek

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