Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
Issue link: http://outpatientsurgery.uberflip.com/i/539497
8 6 O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | J U LY 2 0 1 5 Margaret Chappell, MS, BSN, CASC, senior vice president of operations with ASCOA in Charleston, S.C., is "very likely" to buy 4K video. "Physicians will want state of art," she says. "They always want the latest and greatest." On the other hand, Teressa Polcha, RN, BSN, CNOR, same day services director of Somerset (Pa.) Hospital, says she's "very unlikely" to invest in 4K and 3D visualiza- tion. "We just bought high-def 2 years ago," she says of the struggle to justify the cost and clinical benefit of upgrading to the latest video imaging equipment. "It depends on cost, and does it really help," says Sylvia Sherry, RN, BSN, MSN, CNOR, the materials manager at Summit Surgery Center in Santa Barbara , Calif. When we asked a panel of 36 facility leaders how satisfied their surgeons are with their laparoscopic video equipment, most (77%) were "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied." When we asked how likely they are to upgrade to 4K and 3D video capa- bilities, only about one-fifth said they were "somewhat likely" or "very likely" to buy. "We don't have the money to keep buying the latest next big thing," says one facility manager. "I'm sure the surgeons would like to upgrade to better equipment, but they're okay with using what we have," says Doris Terwilliger, RN, surgery manager at Guthrie County Hospital in Guthrie Center, Iowa. — Dan O'Connor 4K & 3D How Likely Are You to Upgrade Your Video Imaging? to perform the case faster and safer thanks to our OR video system because he didn't have to take extra steps and precautions to avoid surgical complications. On our old equipment, Dr. Frank could clearly see the uterus. With the new gear, though, he can see every vessel and every lump and bump on the uterus. Our system identifies, in real time, the dark areas in an image and automatically adjusts pixels to lighten hard-to-see anatomy. We paid an extra 20% for the 4K upgrade. "But it's worth it," says Dr. Frank of the 4-times-greater resolution.