In other industries, value analysis remains
deeply entrenched within standard operating procedures. In healthcare, however,
value analysis appears to be approaching a sort of Renaissance, hinging on
evidence- and performance-based outcomes, amidst a backdrop of economic
uncertainty and market reforms.
When it comes to high-definition displays
or monitors that are used in the operating room environment, compared to the
home family room, screen size and image quality are equally, if not more,
important. However, some key distinctions exist that make shopping for an HD
surgical display quite different from buying an HDTV for the home.
While it may be common knowledge that good
hand hygiene is a key to wellness, both at home and in the medical setting,
more clinicians need to heed to that old Lebanese proverb that offers sound
advice that resonates well today: "Hygiene is two-thirds of health."
Sterile processing professionals should be
no stranger to the phrase, "You can’t sterilize what isn’t clean." But that
knowledge doesn’t always translate into effective practice. In some cases,
limited resources, such as staffing, education and training time and
instrument inventory, can lead to haste and potentially dangerous shortcuts.
However, that may be changing.
An ongoing debate continues to simmer
between multidimensional bar coding options and radiofrequency
identification tags. One of the key arguments centers on costs. On the
surface at least, bar coding seems to be cheaper than RFID. Another key
argument centers on operational capability and user-friendliness. But can
advanced bar coding do what active and passive tags cannot?
