Becker's ASC Review

55 QUALITY 29 statistics on NP, PA salary By Eric Oliver M edpage Today surveyed nurse practitioners and physician as- sistants in 29 specialties about their salaries. Health Media surveyed more than 20,000 providers to gather survey data. Of all respondents, 7,753 provided salary data. Survey Design & Analysis analyzed and reported the data Average nurse practitioner salary: • Critical care: $139,964 • Psychiatry: $127,237 • General surgery: $126,289 • Emergency medicine: $121,395 • Hospitalist: $118,879 • Oncology: $115,786 • Neurology: $115,494 • Cardiology: $112,529 • Orthopedics: $111,467 • Family medicine: $108,531 • Nephrology: $107,179 • Gastroenterology: $106,933 • Internal medicine: $106,346 • Pain management: $105,111 • OB/GYN: $102,534 • Pediatrics: $101,279 Average physician assistant salary • Emergency medicine: $136,352 • Critical care: $132,022 • Cardiology: $128,046 • Orthopedics: $117,195 • Oncology: $111,254 • Hospitalist: $111,228 • General surgery: $110,321 • Dermatology: $109,019 • Internal medicine: $108,588 • Family medicine: $107,942 • Pain management: $106,982 • Gastroenterology: $106,656 • Psychiatry: $102,895 n 60 patients sue Guardian Pharmacy & 2 Dallas surgery centers that used its drug: 5 insights By Angie Stewart S ixty patients are suing Dallas- based Guardian Pharmacy and two Dallas-area surgery centers that administered the company's compounded solution in 2016 and 2017, WFAA reports. What you should know: 1. The lawsuits allege Guardian's solution caused vision damage within weeks after it was injected during pro- cedures at Medical City Surgery Park Central, formerly Park Central Surgical Center, and Key-Whitman Eye Center. Key-Whitman Eye Center spokesperson declined to comment on the pending litigation. Becker's ASC Review was un- able to reach a Park Central representa- tive at the time of publication. 2. In May 2017, Park Central Surgical Center Administrator Rick Coffman, RN, signed a letter republished by Van Wey Law, which informed patients that some had developed vision impairment after undergoing cataract surgery at the ASC. "We now believe the underlying cause of this issue may be an antibi- otic medication used during surgery. The medication was prepared by an FDA-inspected laboratory here in Dallas and provided to Park Central Surgical Center," the letter said. 3. Van Wey Law identified the solution in question as triamcinolone/moxifloxa- cin. The law firm is representing cataract patients who reported eye injuries. 4. Jeffrey Whitman, MD, previously told WFAA, "The medication was not made to specifications and that is what most likely affected the retina." 5. Guardian voluntarily stopped compounding the drug. However, Guardian Pharmacy President Jack Munn said in a statement to WFAA, "No scientific connection has been established by any entity between the drug Guardian Pharmacy Services compounded and the illnesses that have been reported." Note: There are two separate, unaf- filiated companies named Guardian Pharmacy Services. This article refers exclusively to the one headquartered in Dallas. The other is based in Atlanta and recently acquired Guardian Phar- macy of Dallas-Fort Worth in Arlington, also not affiliated with the pharmacy referenced in this article." n The Joint Commission addresses OR temperature standard — 4 details By Angie Stewart Here are four clarifications on The Joint Commission's standard for the estab- lished temperature range in operating rooms. 1. For established temperature range in operating rooms, NFPA 99-2012 re- quires ASHRAE 170-2008, Ventilation Table 7-1 to be used. 2. For operating rooms in classes B and C, the established range for tempera- tures is 68 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Class A operating/procedure rooms should have a range of 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. 3. Ventilation Table 7-1 includes an exception for temperatures to be outside of established minimum ranges when required for patients' comfort and/or medi- cal conditions. If a provider uses this exception and follows established policy, logging the issue isn't required. 4. If the temperature falls below the established range, verify it won't have a nega- tive impact on patient care or the relative humidity level or take further action. n

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