Reducing cost and improving operating room efficiency: examination of surgical instrument processing

Area of Science:

• Surgical Operations
• Healthcare Management
• Medical Device Optimization

Background:

• Surgical instrument processing delays can impede operating room efficiency.
• Many instruments in standardized trays are underutilized during thyroid and parathyroid surgery.
• Existing trays present opportunities for optimization to improve workflow and reduce costs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a streamlined surgical instrument tray for thyroid and parathyroid procedures.
• To enhance operative efficiency and reduce associated costs through tray optimization.
• To identify and eliminate unnecessary instruments from surgical sets.

Main Methods:

• Head and neck surgical instrument trays were reviewed by operating room team leaders.
• Instruments were categorized as necessary or unnecessary based on usage during thyroidectomies and parathyroidectomies.
• Operating room preparation time, tray weight, and instrument count were compared between original and new trays.

Main Results:

• The surgical set was reduced from two trays (98 instruments) to one tray (36 instruments).
• Tray weight decreased from 27 to 10 pounds, and preparation time reduced from 8 to 3 minutes.
• Reprocessing costs per operation decreased by $31.62, with projected annual savings exceeding $28,000.

Conclusions:

• Optimizing surgical trays reduces costs, physical strain, and processing times.
• Streamlining instrument trays is an effective strategy for increasing operating room efficiency.
• Hospitals can achieve significant cost savings and operational improvements through surgical tray optimization.