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antibiotics," says Patricia J. Fowler, RN, vice president of surgical services.
In the moments before surgery it's not too late for infection prevention, according to Pat Armstrong, RN, administrator of the Greater Springfield (Mass.) Surgery Center. "Confirming that the antibiotic was given should be part of the time out," she says.
Financial and clinical
As a pre-emptive defense against infection, administering IV antibiotics to patients within 1 hour of the incision ensures a sufficient concentration of the drug in surgical site tissue. Unless you're giving them vancomycin or fluoroquinolones, in which case the rule is within 2 hours. The rule now plays a role in reimbursement. Under Medicare's new quality measures for ASCs, G-codes indicating prophylactic antibiotic activity must be reported on each claim, or else payments will be docked, starting in 2014.
E-mail dbernard@outpatientsurgery.net.
On the Web:
"Clinical Practice Guidelines for Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Surgery," a
collaborative compilation of standards: http://ajhp.org/content/70/3/195.full
