Volume 5 Issue 2

Flexible eye model takes the hardship out of patient education

Japanese nurses feel that allotting extra time for patient education ensures a much higher rate of patient satisfaction. In fact, the hospital team at Hara Eye Hospital, Utsunomiya, Japan went to great lengths to produce an oversized, flexible eye model to help improve patient education.

Nurse-led survey allows improvements in LASEK care

A Swedish refractive surgical team found that they were able to offer improved pre- and postoperative care for laser epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK) patients based on research by nurses on the team.

Peri-surgical pain experiences are less numerous than expected

Pain experienced during ophthalmic surgery is less frequent and generally less severe than expected, a new study suggests. Finnish researchers compared the pain experienced by patients receiving different forms of topical anaesthesia for various types of ophthalmic day care surgery. They found that more than 60 per cent of patients experience pain of less than score 3 on the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for pain.

Stick to the hygiene protocol to contain infectious spreading

Eye infections spread easily, making proper hygiene the best barrier against communicable eye diseases, Uwe Pleyer MD, a professor of ophthalmology at the Charite Eye Clinic in Berlin, Germany told ophthalmic nurses and technicians at the yearly Congress of the DGII (German- Speaking Society for Intraocular Lens Implantation and Refractive Surgery).

Swedish nurses track patient satisfaction

How does anyone know if a patient care system really works without asking the patients themselves? Swedish nurses use a system called the Mini Qup, a patient satisfaction survey that is used at all Capio clinics in Sweden, to do just that.

Swedish service line gains popularity in the UK

UK hospitals are finding that a Swedishbased service model can help them catch up on cataract waiting lists. “A service line reflects a loose cooperation between clinics that do the same type of surgery. These are generally very narrow units that perform mostly cataract surgery, and some individual units that also perform refractive surgery. The service line is based on an overall simplification and high level of standardisation of the commonly implemented 'best practice',” said Eva Djerf-Nichols RN, Capio Eye Service Line coordinator.

The risk of TASS makes proper instrument handling procedures more important than ever

Proper instrument handling is more important than ever, in light of two outbreaks of toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS) across the US in the past two years. TASS, a complication of anterior segment surgery, is a sterile inflammation of the anterior chamber of the eye. A 2005 outbreak was linked to a balanced salt solution that was contaminated by endotoxins and pulled from the market.