A beginner's guide to surgical smoothing: Variations in hospital occupancy have long impeded patient safety & hospital efficiency. During a peak, beds are full, wait times increase, ambulances are diverted, errors are more likely, and overtime pay is required. (1/6)

"Surgical smoothing (SS)," pioneered by Dr. Eugene Litvak of the IHO, seeks to eliminate this pattern by dispersing elective procedures evenly across the week. Currently, most procedures are performed early in the week to accommodate surgeons' scheduling preferences. (4/6)

NEW—More nurses lead to fewer patient deaths and readmissions, shorter hospital stays, and cost-savings for hospitals, suggests study of recent Australian state policy to introduce a minimum ratio of one nurse to four patients for day shifts. Read hubs.li/H0N74zl0.

Effects of nurse-to-patient ratio legislation on nurse staffing and patient mortality, readmissions, and length of stay: a prospective study in a panel of hospitals thelancet.com/journals/lance…

The new article "How hospitals can save lives and themselves: lessons on patient flow from the COVID-19 Pandemic" has been published by the Annals of Surgery: journals.lww.com/annalsofsurger… #surgericalbacklog #nursestaffing #patientsafety

Dr. Erin Kane interviews patient flow experts Dr. Eugene Litvak, Dr. Peter Viccellio, and Hallie Kreul on the topic of the post-COVID surgical backlog and inpatient capacity in a new Urgent Matters podcast. smhs.gwu.edu/urgentmatters/… #patientflow #postcovid

ICYMI: Experts from #GWSMHS, Milken Institute SPH, and more discussed the university's #COVID19 #vaccine requirement, the health and safety of the vaccine, and campus health topics in a virtual forum. Watch more: bit.ly/3pHtl3P

"The easing of the pandemic may not help much. The shortage of nurses is longstanding and in the wake of a public health crisis that prompted 29% of health care workers to consider leaving the profession, many expect a wave of retirements." #CareCantWait nytimes.com/2021/06/04/hea…

Not surprisingly, nurse shortage became a burning issue around the globe. The surprising fact, however, is that we still do not use this scarce resource frugally:   linkedin.com/feed/update/ur…

Government pressure on surgeons to work harder to reduce waiting lists, against a background of bed shortages and a lack of support staff, could lead to an exodus from the profession, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England has warned ow.ly/OZvb50GLzag

Harvey Fineberg, long-time leader in US public health & science policy, has written a powerful essay on pandemics, COVID-19, science and science policy. Worth a read here: bit.ly/3xhG6FT.

‘We ran out of ICU beds today’: Hospitals stagger under strain as COVID-19 cases reach highest level since winter bostonglobe.com/2021/12/02/met… via The Boston Globe

Hospitals are already busy and crowded. Now they're facing another COVID surge. "That's as bad as I've ever seen it," Eric Dickson, MD, CEO, UMass Memorial Health told me bostonglobe.com/2021/12/02/met… via The Boston Globe

Ottawa spent $300-million to purchase mobile hospitals. They're sitting in storage while #Omicron strains Canada’s health system, by Robert Fife Steven Chase theglobeandmail.com/politics/artic… via The Globe and Mail #COVID19 #cdnpoli #cdnhealth

The next step in COVID-care is NON-COVID care. Need to direct the same resolve and resources to clear the backlog of surgical patients waiting. University Health Network AATS UHN Sprott Department of Surgery

Healthcare delivery is failing. A new book provides a roadmap to the solution implemented by pioneering hospitals, alleviating high costs, ED overcrowding, nursing shortage, surgical backlog, and healthcare inequity in the US, Canada, and UK: lnkd.in/eep2wWFB

Is your ED overcrowded? Are you experiencing a nursing shortage? Are your surgeons unhappy about waiting for ORs? Are you approaching the red ink? Don't spend a penny until you visit ihoptimize.org.

Everyone has a lot to say in complaint of US healthcare delivery. Not many have practically proven remedies to offer. thehill.com/opinion/491873…

The annual US healthcare cost has reached $4.9 trillion - about 30% of which is wasted. What are we getting for this investment? Increasing mortality, overcrowded EDs, nursing shortages... Is there a way out? wsj.com/opinion/a-simp…

Could this mathematician’s formula fix US hospitals? omny.fm/shows/an-arm-a…