Wait and see
Eye-popping
images and anec-
dotal evidence
aside, there are a
few reasons why
the prospect of
upgrading to a
whole new video
system has given
some facilities
pause, even as
they acknowl-
edge that ultra-
HD technology
may be the
future of surgical
visualization.
The Texas Spine & Joint Hospital in Tyler, Texas, recently opted for
an HD system over 4K after trialing 2 examples of each. While many
physician-owned, for-profit surgical facilities make their capital equip-
ment purchases guided in large part by cost, and while the latest, great-
est entries in any product field can seem cost-prohibitive, it wasn't the
dollars that drove the decision at Texas Spine & Joint.
"Surprisingly, most physicians didn't see advantages with 4K, and
they were not even given the pricing, because I didn't want to skew
their choices," says Cheryl (Skeet) Todd, RN, BSN, CNOR, CPAN,
RNFA, the hospital's director of outpatient surgical services. "They
just didn't see a huge advantage in the images, not enough to warrant
the price difference," which she admits was fairly steep from her ven-
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 1 7
• TECHNOLOGY IN BLOOM "The comparison between the (4K) equipment I have, and the not-so-
new equipment at the main hospital is night and day," says Jeffrey B. Frank, MD.
Pamela
J.
Ertel,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR,
RNFA,
CASC,
FABC
