Lorraine Hutzler, MPA, serves as Associate Program Director for The Center for Quality and Patient Safety at NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital.
Lorraine will speak at Becker's Healthcare ASC Virtual Event Part I. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the virtual event, which will take place September 30 - October 2, 2020.
To learn more about the conference and Lorraine's session, click here.
Question: In the long term, how do you think the COVID-19 pandemic will affect your ASC?
Lorraine Hutzler: Since COVID we have seen an increase in our outpatient procedures especially same-day surgeries for joint replacement. We anticipate this to continue.
Q: How are you managing employee satisfaction and engagement during such a difficult time?
LH: All medical center employees are able to roll over two weeks of vacation this year. Individuals who worked during COVID have received additional vacation time. The medical system has established an employee relief fund to assist employees, students and trainees experiencing a financial burden as a result of COVID.
Q: What strategies have you deployed to address and/or prevent any inventory challenges?
LH: We have monthly meetings with our Supply Chain Management group where we discuss the value of new and substitution products. In case there is a change in supply we identify appropriate solutions. One example of this is when antibiotics were identified to be in short supply. We were able to identify this issue in advance and engage our antibiotic stewardship team for alternatives. We were able to quickly order and disseminate an appropriate supply among our providers.
Q: What technologies and/or techniques are the biggest time and money savers for your ASC?
LH: Electronic Health Records and paperless consent forms which can be downloaded directly from EPIC. Our Pre-admission Testing process has been completely automated and all patient visits are now done virtually. This process has been integrated with our EMR and surgical scheduling. Additionally, we enroll our patients in MyChart which engages them in our EMR system and involves them in their process of care.