Cost containment via expense rationalization in open-heart surgery

Hospital costs and the fees of the surgeon, assistant, anesthesiologist, and cardiologist were reviewed in a community hospital doing 425 cardiac operations in the year 1977. Each item of the bill was analyzed and discussed with each department of the hospital. Changes made in the routine saved approximately $1000 per patient--16% for patients having mitral valves replacement (MVR), 15% for those having aortic valve replacement (AVR), 21% for those having saphenous vein bypass grafts (SVBG), and 23% for pediatric cases. The areas most likely to yield economic reductions without alteration of the quality of care are operating room, patient room, respiratory therapy, and pharmacy. Making the nurses, scrub technicians, surgical assistants, residents, and staff surgeons aware of the cost of each item and periodically discussing the alternatives could yield surprisingly large savings.