In striving for excellence in patient care via scientific means, clinicians may be omitting a potent source of relevant information—the patients themselves.
Increased vigilance for key patient safety issues will impact quality assurance in the future and help to reduce the incidence of iatrogenic morbidity and mortality after surgery.
When a Mass Casuality Incident occurs, the establishment of a defined system with central control is critical for the orderly evacuation and transfer of patients through a cascade of treatment from resuscitation and damage control to definitive care and eventually to rehabilitation.
There is an increasing evidence emerging that simulation in surgical training is effective. However, the problem remains that if all patients had completely error-free technical aspects to their admission approximately 97% of medical errors and bad outcomes would still occur.
The OR and image-based interventional suites are the most cost-intensive sectors in the hospital, therefore, the optimisation of workflow processes has become of particular concern to healthcare providers. The understanding and management of workflows should become an integral part in the planning and implementation of complex digital infrastructure supporting diagnostic and interventional procedures.
A large series of randomised controlled trials conducted all around the world have confirmed clearly the advantages of endoscopic inguinal hernia repair compared to the open technique in terms of operative complication, discomfort, analgesic use and return to work.
It is inevitable that the concept of quality assurance in surgery will expand worldwide and encompass other surgical disciplines; the process will be driven by patients, professionals and healthcare providers alike.
The combination of new intra-cardiac imaging technology and tool-tracking systems with the dexterity and stability of robotic instruments will enable safe and reliable off-pump intra-cardiac repair, including Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) closure and the repair of mitral valve insufficiency.
Technological innovations in the field of robotics, and telemedicine will drive the future of minimally invasive surgery.
The reason why MIS has so explosively spread all over the world is that there is a significant difference in postoperative quality of life of the patients with MIS vis-à-vis open surgery.
Minimal access surgery has come as a boon for bariatric surgery.
Recent years have seen a movement towards plastic and disposable syringes so that the needle is protected and cannot be re-used.
The provision of safe and effective medical devices for patients and users forms the basis for standards and regulations throughout the world.
Breast cancer is one of the commonest cancers affecting women. It is estimated that this disease will afflict one in eight women in the USA during their lifetime.