AANA journal
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This column will give a brief history of the development of guidelines for isolation precautions in hospitals. The current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines will be reviewed along with examples of the disease processes that apply to each category. An example of an anesthesia department's guide for the care of patients with transmissible diseases requiring anesthesia care will be presented. The guide can be used by readers as a template for the development of a guide applicable to their practice.
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We present a statistical method that uses data from surgical services information systems to determine the minimum number of anesthetists to be scheduled for weekend call in an operating room suite. The staffing coverage is predicted that provides for sufficient anesthetists to cover each hour of a 24-hour weekend period, while satisfying a specified risk for being understaffed. ⋯ By using this method to schedule weekend staff, an anesthesia group can assure as few anesthetists are on call as possible, and for as few hours as possible, while maintaining the level of risk of understaffing that the anesthesia group is willing to accept. An anesthesia group also can use the method to calculate its risk of being understaffed in the surgical suite based on its existing weekend staffing plan.