Cover Story

The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) has issued new and updated Guidelines for Perioperative Practice in 2025 that all perioperative personnel should be aware of. These guidelines are the gold standard in evidence-based recommendations to deliver safe perioperative patient care and achieve workplace safety.

Healthcare facilities rely on sterile medical devices to provide safe patient care. These include everything from endoscopes to surgical scissors and retractors. New regulations released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year could have an impact on how these devices are sterilized, which in turn could impact device availability for hospitals and ASCs.

When it comes to sustainability, healthcare is lagging behind many other industries. The health care industry accounts for about 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Operating rooms are considered to be the main energy consumers and waste producers within hospitals, using up to six times more energy than the rest of the hospital and generating more than half of a hospital’s waste.

As the calendar flips to 2025, artificial intelligence (AI) is making its mark in almost every corner of business and society. This includes the operating room, where AI and machine learning (ML) are being integrated to improve decision making, predict surgical complications and case durations, automate documentation and streamline the perioperative workflow.

There is a growing interest in surgical missions among many perioperative professionals today. The concept of medical missions, however, goes all the way back to the 18th to late-19th centuries. 

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Surgical Time Out, a groundbreaking perioperative practice that some have ranked with wearing gloves and following sterile procedures as among the most important changes in perioperative history.