Surgeon-estimated costs of common consumables in otolaryngology

The current fiscal climate demands increasing emphasis on curbing hospital expenses incurred from surgical procedures. Disposable instruments and consumables play a major role, but the end user (the surgeon) is often unaware of the cost of these materials. The objectives of our study were: 1) to assess knowledge of costs of disposable instruments and consumable products, and 2) to gauge interest in greater access to cost information and its potential to change practice.

We used a cross-sectional survey study to meet our study's objectives.

A paper-based anonymous questionnaire was administered in the Department of Otolaryngology at McGill University and at Western University asking for estimations of costs of 23 commonly used products in the operating room. Our primary outcome measure was accuracy of cost estimations, which were considered accurate if within ± 50% of the true cost at the respective institution.

The average accuracy was 29.9% (standard deviation = 16.7%). There was no significant difference between residents (32.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.2%-54.7%) and staff (28.3%, 95% CI: 11.0%-45.6%). Less than 10% of participants were able to accurately estimate the costs of at least half of the disposable products. The majority of participants (82%) felt that greater information would change their use of consumables.

Surgical residents and staff have a generally poor knowledge of the cost of common consumable products used in the operating room. There is potential for increased awareness of costs to change behavior.

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