Quantifying Medical Waste at a Veterans Affairs Operating Room

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Environmental Science
• Surgical Operations

Background:

• Medical waste poses environmental, financial, and administrative challenges to healthcare systems.
• Quantifying waste at the facility level is a crucial first step in waste reduction efforts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the volume and cost of medical waste generated by operative cases.
• To identify the most common types of surplus equipment and supplies in an operating room setting.

Main Methods:

• Prospective analysis of surplus equipment and supplies from a single surgical team over six weeks.
• Items were counted, weighed, and the cost of common items was calculated using standard procurement values.

Main Results:

• 81 pieces of surplus equipment and 1122 pieces of surplus medical supplies were identified.
• The total weight of surplus items was 72.2 kg.
• The five most common items (blue towels, suture, gloves, gowns, gauze pads) cost $1,764.56 over the study period.

Conclusions:

• Operative waste, including surplus equipment and supplies, increases operational time, effort, and costs.
• Quantification of waste provides a basis for implementing strategies to reduce extraneous medical supplies and equipment.