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Related Experiment Videos

Specialty support surfaces: a cost containment perspective

S Thomason, G G Hawley, J Wurzel

    Decubitus
    |November 1, 1993
    PubMed
    Summary
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    The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) identified significant cost savings by owning specialty support surfaces instead of renting them. Implementing a decision-making algorithm and guidelines can help healthcare facilities manage specialty support surface expenditures.

    Area of Science:

    • Healthcare Management
    • Medical Device Utilization
    • Cost Containment Strategies

    Background:

    • Annual expenditures for specialty support surface rentals exceeded $5.9 million for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
    • Significant variation in rental expenditures existed across VA facilities, with some spending over $100,000 annually.
    • The National Center for Cost Containment (NCCC) sought to optimize the use and reduce costs associated with these surfaces.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To identify strategies for appropriate use and cost-containment of specialty support surfaces within the VA.
    • To analyze utilization patterns and identify cost-saving opportunities.
    • To develop tools to guide decision-making for specialty support surface acquisition and use.

    Main Methods:

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  • Convened a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to develop guidelines and strategies.
  • Conducted a survey of specialty support surface utilization and rental expenditures across VA facilities.
  • Developed a decision-making tree algorithm focused on first-line devices.

    • Main Results:

    • Identified substantial cost savings for facilities that owned specialty support surfaces compared to renting.
    • Observed a wide disparity in rental costs among VA facilities, indicating potential for optimization.
    • Developed a decision-making algorithm to guide appropriate use and reduce rental expenses.

    Conclusions:

    • Owning specialty support surfaces offers significant cost-saving potential for healthcare facilities.
    • A decision-making algorithm, used with established guidelines, can effectively contain expenditures for specialty support surfaces.
    • The findings and tools developed can benefit both VA and non-VA healthcare facilities in managing costs.