Surgeons' perspectives on operating room waste: Multicenter survey.

Area of Science:

• Health Care Management
• Surgical Waste Reduction
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Waste generation is a pervasive problem within the U.S. healthcare system.
• Operating rooms contribute substantially to solid waste production.
• Surgeons play a key role in operational decisions impacting waste.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess surgeon perspectives on intraoperative waste.
• To evaluate surgeon willingness to actively reduce operating room waste.
• To identify barriers to waste reduction in surgical settings.

Main Methods:

• An online survey was administered to surgeons.
• Participants were from two major academic medical centers in the U.S.
• The survey focused on intraoperative waste and reduction strategies.

Main Results:

• 219 surgeons responded, with 90% identifying sterile surgical item waste as an issue.
• 95% expressed willingness to alter operating room workflows to minimize waste.
• Surgeons estimated 26% of opened single-use sterile supplies were unused post-surgery.
• Key barriers included lack of awareness, concern, and time.

Conclusions:

• Surgeons acknowledge substantial operating room waste and are amenable to workflow changes.
• Reducing operating room waste benefits healthcare finances and population health via decreased consumption and pollution.
• Focusing on eliminating unnecessary sterile supply waste is a crucial first step.
• Further research is needed to pinpoint perioperative waste sources and effective reduction initiatives while maintaining patient care.