|
|
|
|
| Tenn. Surgeon Pleads Guilty to Assault |
|
Orthopedic surgeon Bret Sokoloff, MD, of Germantown, Tenn., who was charged with sexually assaulting several nurses at a surgical center, has pleaded guilty to three counts of misdemeanor assault, according to published reports.
Charges of attempted rape, sexual battery and indecent exposure were dismissed. As part of the settlement, Dr. Sokoloff, 37, received three years' probation. Prosecutors say his three accusers, all nurses who once worked with him, approved the settlement.
According to the indictments, Dr. Sokoloff, a surgeon with the Memphis Orthopedic Group, exposed himself or attempted to rape several nurses between August 2005 and February 2008 at the Midtown Surgery Center in Memphis, Tenn.
Still pending is a civil suit filed by one nurse and an indecent exposure case stemming from a trip to a masseuse in Collierville, Tenn., last year.
Dan O'Connor |
|
 |
^ Back to Top |
|
|
|
|
| ASGE Launches Quality Recognition Program |
|
The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy will now officially recognize endoscopy units that follow CDC infection control guidelines and meet ASGE's standards on physician privileging, quality assurance and endoscopy reprocessing.
ASGE Certificates of Recognition will be given to endoscopy units in offices, hospitals and ASCs that:
show proof of current accreditation by a national accrediting body,
provide written documentation that ASGE and CDC guidelines are used as minimum requirements for unit policies, and
have a unit representative complete an ASGE-sponsored course designed to review those guidelines.
Certificates of Recognition will be granted for a three-year renewable period, says the organization. The first ASGE recognition course, entitled "Improving Quality and Safety In Your Endoscopy Unit," will be held on Oct. 17-18 in Oak Brook, Ill. This program will cover patient satisfaction, endoscopy-related infections, endoscope reprocessing, quality metrics, QI programs, staff training, physician credentialing, accreditation strategies, quality sedation and monitoring.
ASGE says endoscopy units obtaining a Certificate of Recognition will have a marketable tool for attracting both physicians and potential patients, letting each group know that the facility is dedicated to delivering high quality care.
"I welcome it," says Andrew S. Weiss, CASC, administer of the Endo Center at Voorhees in Voorhees, N.J. "Is it necessary? I guess that depends on how you want to position your center. We've established a culture of providing quality care, and offering recognition for taking the extra steps to make it happen is a good thing. It's voluntary so those who feel it is redundant with accreditation or otherwise not needed can opt out."
In related news, AAAASF has customized its accreditation requirements for non-surgical ambulatory facilities, including gastroenterology and endoscopy centers, in reaction to an increased demand for the accreditation of facilities performing same-day procedures under sedation.
Daniel Cook |
|
|
^ Back to Top |
|
|
|
|
| AAAHC's New Outpatient Benchmark Data |
|
Outpatient surgery centers are going faster, satisfying more patients and learning to deal with challenges as they arise, according to a trio of benchmarking studies released by the AAAHC Institute for Quality Improvement.
"Folks are figuring it out," says Naomi Kuznets, PhD, managing director of the Skokie, Ill.-based institute. The studies, covering colonoscopy, cataract surgery and knee arthroscopy with meniscectomy, include data on 4,942 procedures performed between August 2007 and January 2008. (Participation in the studies is open to all ASCs, regardless of their accreditation).
Some highlights from the institute's studies:
Colonoscopy
The median time from visualization of cecum to the end of procedure was 9 minutes, with a range of 4 minutes to 18 minutes.
88 percent of patients reported no discomfort during the procedure, but 34 percent reported mid-range to severe discomfort during the bowel prep.
Cataract surgery
Intraoperative anesthetics used included topical (42 percent), retrobulbar block (26 percent) and peribulbar block (24 percent).
81 percent of patients were presbyopic, yet only 15 percent of Medicare patients received a presbyopia-correcting lens - which requires an extra fee - as compared to 28 percent for non-Medicare patients.
Knee arthroscopy with meniscectomy
82 percent of facilities sterilize their arthroscopes.
32 percent of facilities reprocess single-use items, of which 70 percent are sent to a commercial reprocessor.
AAAHC says that in the eight years they've been publishing such data, it has become apparent that the most successful facilities are those that do the most planning and preparing. "Often, they've been studying it for a while," says Dr. Kuznets. "They don't take it for granted."
Kent Steinriede |
|
|
^ Back to Top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| News & Notes |
|
ASGE Updates Endoscopy Guidelines Antibiotics administered solely to prevent infective endocarditis are no longer recommended by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy for all GI-tract cases. The society changed its guidelines based on the American Heart Association's most recent antibiotic prophylaxis recommendations. Only 15 cases of IE have been identified among the more than 19 million GI tract procedures performed in the United States each year. ASGE recommends amoxicillin or ampicillin to prevent IE only in patients with established GI infections associated with enterococci bacteria such as cholangitis.
Canadian C. diff outbreak A total of 177 patients admitted to a Toronto hospital between May 2006 and December 2007 were diagnosed with Clostridium difficile. Ninety-one of these patients died, says a news release from Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital, and C. diff played a role in 76 of those deaths. Canada's health minister has announced his intention to work with Ontario's hospital association to create a mandatory public reporting system for future outbreak incidents.
In defense of opioids Less than 3 percent of chronic pain patients who haven't previously abused drugs will abuse or become dependent on prescribed opioids, a Johns Hopkins University researcher reported at the American Pain Society's recent annual meeting. As a result, clinical caution and public policy should not obstruct legitimate pain patients from pharmaceutical relief. "We do need stronger evidence about which patients will benefit most from these medications to help make better prescribing decisions," said Srinivasa Raja, MD, an anesthesiology professor at Johns Hopkins' medical school. "But for most chronic pain patients, drugs are not the sole solution." Current multifaceted treatments should be accompanied by physician-patient communication and monitoring, as well as consistent regulatory response. |
|
|
^ Back to Top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
