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Surgical Supply Cost Awareness Is Associated With Lower Costs: A Single-Center Experience
Joshua Tseng1, Harry C Sax1, Bruce L Gewertz1
1Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
The American Surgeon
|October 26, 2020
Summary
Providing surgeons with cost feedback significantly reduced surgical supply expenses for laparoscopic appendectomies. This intervention led to a 14.4% cost reduction per case, demonstrating the impact of financial transparency in surgical settings.
Area of Science:
- Surgical Innovation
- Health Economics
- Medical Cost Reduction
Background:
- Surgeons often lack awareness of surgical instrumentation and supply costs.
- High variability in supply costs exists among surgeons for the same procedures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that providing surgeons with cost feedback reduces surgical supply costs.
- To evaluate the impact of cost transparency on surgeon spending for laparoscopic appendectomies.
Main Methods:
- A multidisciplinary team analyzed surgical supply costs for laparoscopic appendectomies across seven surgeons.
- Surgeons received individualized cost feedback, including comparative data and alternative supply costs.
- Standardization of the laparoscopic appendectomy tray was implemented to remove extraneous instruments.
Main Results:
- Average supply cost per case decreased from $754-$1189 pre-intervention to $676-$846 post-intervention.
- Overall average cost per case reduced by $123.24 (14.4%), from $854.35 to $731.11 (P < .001).
- Total annualized savings reached $29,151.
Conclusions:
- Surgeon cost feedback is an effective strategy for reducing surgical supply costs.
- Standardizing surgical trays and providing comparative cost data can lead to significant financial savings.
- Implementing cost-awareness interventions can optimize resource utilization in academic surgical institutions.
