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Preventable drug waste among anesthesia providers: opportunities for efficiency
Carrie Leigh Hamby Atcheson1, John Spivack2, Robert Williams3
1Oregon Anesthesiology Group, Portland, OR, USA.
Journal of Clinical Anesthesia
|April 5, 2016
Summary
Anesthetic drug waste costs $185,250 annually, with ephedrine and succinylcholine being the most frequently wasted. Optimizing drug preparation and considering prefilled syringes can reduce these costs.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology
- Health Economics
- Pharmacy Practice
Background:
- Health care service bundling initiatives have demonstrated cost reductions through bundled payments.
- Anesthesia care's potential for cost savings is crucial for healthcare sustainability.
- This study quantifies anesthetic drug waste and identifies associated factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define and quantify routine and preventable anesthetic drug waste.
- To identify patient, procedure, and anesthesia provider characteristics linked to increased waste.
- To estimate the financial impact of anesthetic drug waste.
Main Methods:
- Drug waste was assessed by recording prepared anesthetic drugs for 543 surgical cases over 12 months.
- Administered drug amounts were extracted from computerized anesthesia records.
- Data analysis determined the incidence and cost of routine and preventable waste, including labor and materials.
Main Results:
- Preventable waste occurred in 59.5% of cases for ephedrine, 33.7% for succinylcholine, and 25.1% for lidocaine.
- Routine waste was observed in less than 20% of cases.
- The estimated annual cost of preventable anesthetic drug waste was $185,250.
Conclusions:
- Significant cost savings are achievable by reducing anesthetic drug waste.
- Prefilled syringes may offer savings for select anesthetic drugs.
- Potential savings must be weighed against disposal costs, pharmacy overhead, and drug stability issues.
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