AORN Journal

Like many health care settings, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) is increasing. Applications include facilitating patient selection, predicting “no-show” patients, verifying intraoperative patient information, providing decision support, monitoring patients postoperatively, and offering health guidance.

However, the use of AI has raised concerns. The “misuse of AI chatbots in healthcare” placed first on the ECRI’s list of the top 10 technology hazards for 2026. Issues associated with chatbots and other large language models include incorrect responses to clinical questions and exacerbation of existing health disparities because of biases embedded in training data.

To learn more about the current and future use of AI in the ASC environment, the AORN Journal spoke with Jessica Rodriguez, MBA, CASC, executive director for Orthopedic Associates of Michigan (OAM) Surgery Center at MidTowne in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70096

Article: ASC INSIGHTS Artificial Intelligence in the Ambulatory Surgery Center

Authors: Cynthia Saver, MS, RN

During multiple concurrent procedures on a patient, using one combined running count may reduce the risk of addition or subtraction errors and allow the perioperative team to validate that items have not been retained in the patient.

The AORN “Guideline for the prevention of unintentionally retained surgical items” conditionally recommends that perioperative teams count all items together during the final count when the operative or other invasive procedure involves multiple procedures or sterile fields. The recommendation further clarifies that perioperative teams should maintain sterile technique when counting items used during operative or other invasive procedures for which multiple procedures are performed or sterile fields are used.

For more guidance on preventing retained surgical items during procedures with multiple sterile fields, read this month’s Clinical Issues.
https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70085

Author: Zach Swartz, MHI, BSN, RN, EBP-C, CNOR

The need to provide care to increasing numbers of patients for both access and economic reasons, combined with chronic staffing limitations, has created intense pressure on health care organizations and the people employed to provide care.

The overall result is an entrenched culture of individual priorities in job performance rather than well-coordinated teamwork. These conditions set the stage for staff burnout, reduced staff retention, and avoidable patient harm.

https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.70086

GUEST EDITORIAL: Reduce Burnout, Improve Safety and Efficiency: Consider Prosocial Behavior

Authors: Jeffrey Feldman, MD, MSE, FASA; Ramona Houmanfar, PhD ; Mary Fearon, MSN, RN; John M. Flynn, MD; Jeffrey B. Cooper, PhD; Stuart Libman, MD; Caoimhe Duffy, MD, MSc, CPPS, FCAI; Lisa Spruce, DNP, RN, CNOR, CNS-CP, EBP-C, APRN, FAAN; and Della Lin, MD, MS, FASA