Collaborating to manage vendor interactions and protect quality of care in the OR

A culture that provides for safe patient environments demands that health care risk managers address all barriers to safe care, sometimes in extraordinary ways. For example, the operating room is one environment that has gained attention with policies on performing "time outs" before beginning a case and strong emphasis on correct site, correct patient and correct procedure surgery. However, a common hospital practice that has been generally accepted is to invite, allow and encourage sales representatives, or vendors, into the operating room to help surgeons use new equipment or devices. This article will describe how risk managers - partnering with their facility's sourcing and materials management departments - were able to influence a network-wide shift in vendor interactions in the operating room to create safer places for patient care.