Optimizing spine surgery instrument trays to immediately increase efficiency and reduce costs in the operating room

Background: Over-crowded surgical trays result in perioperative inefficiency and unnecessary costs. While methodologies to reduce the size of surgical trays have been described in the literature, they each have their own drawbacks. In this study, we compared three methods: (1) clinician review (CR),...

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Main Authors: Setti Belhouari, HBSc, Jay Toor, MD, MBA, Aazad Abbas, HBSc, Johnathan R. Lex, MB, ChB, Michael R. Mercier, MD, MHS, Jeremie Larouche, MD, MSc
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-06-01
Series:North American Spine Society Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666548423000100
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author Setti Belhouari, HBSc
Jay Toor, MD, MBA
Aazad Abbas, HBSc
Johnathan R. Lex, MB, ChB
Michael R. Mercier, MD, MHS
Jeremie Larouche, MD, MSc
author_facet Setti Belhouari, HBSc
Jay Toor, MD, MBA
Aazad Abbas, HBSc
Johnathan R. Lex, MB, ChB
Michael R. Mercier, MD, MHS
Jeremie Larouche, MD, MSc
author_sort Setti Belhouari, HBSc
collection DOAJ
description Background: Over-crowded surgical trays result in perioperative inefficiency and unnecessary costs. While methodologies to reduce the size of surgical trays have been described in the literature, they each have their own drawbacks. In this study, we compared three methods: (1) clinician review (CR), (2) mathematical programming (MP), and (3) a novel hybrid model (HM) based on surveys and cost analysis. While CR and MP are well documented, CR can yield suboptimal reductions and MP can be laborious and technically challenging. We hypothesized our easy-to-implement HM would result in a reduction of surgical instruments in both the laminectomy tray (LT) and basic neurosurgery tray (BNT) that is comparable to CR and MP. Methods: Three approaches were tested: CR, MP, and HM. We interviewed 5 neurosurgeons and 3 orthopedic surgeons, at our institution, who performed a total of 5437 spine cases, requiring the use of the LT and BNT over a 4-year (2017–2021) period. In CR, surgeons suggested which surgical instruments should be removed. MP was performed via the mathematical analysis of 25 observations of the use of a LT and BNT tray. The HM was performed via a structured survey of the surgeons’ estimated instrument usage, followed by a cost-based inflection point analysis. Results: The CR, MP, and HM approaches resulted in a total instrument reduction of 41%, 35%, and 38%, respectively, corresponding to total cost savings per annum of $50,211.20, $46,348.80, and $44,417.60, respectively. Conclusions: While hospitals continue to examine perioperative services for potential inefficiencies, surgical inventory will be increasingly scrutinized. Despite MP being the most accurate methodology to do so, our results suggest that savings were similar across all three methods. CR and HM are significantly less laborious and thus are practical alternatives.
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spelling doaj.art-53f8bd5f13bd4f75bf5e4816229b99322023-06-24T05:19:17ZengElsevierNorth American Spine Society Journal2666-54842023-06-0114100208Optimizing spine surgery instrument trays to immediately increase efficiency and reduce costs in the operating roomSetti Belhouari, HBSc0Jay Toor, MD, MBA1Aazad Abbas, HBSc2Johnathan R. Lex, MB, ChB3Michael R. Mercier, MD, MHS4Jeremie Larouche, MD, MSc5Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 149 College St, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Surgery, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaTemerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 149 College St, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Division of Orthopaedics, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, 149 College St, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaTemerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 149 College St, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Division of Orthopaedics, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, 149 College St, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaTemerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 149 College St, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Division of Orthopaedics, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, 149 College St, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaTemerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 149 College St, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Division of Orthopaedics, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, 149 College St, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Corresponding author. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, 149 College Street, 5th Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5T 1P5. Tel.:+1 413-426-4472.Department of Surgery, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Division of Orthopaedics, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, 149 College St, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaBackground: Over-crowded surgical trays result in perioperative inefficiency and unnecessary costs. While methodologies to reduce the size of surgical trays have been described in the literature, they each have their own drawbacks. In this study, we compared three methods: (1) clinician review (CR), (2) mathematical programming (MP), and (3) a novel hybrid model (HM) based on surveys and cost analysis. While CR and MP are well documented, CR can yield suboptimal reductions and MP can be laborious and technically challenging. We hypothesized our easy-to-implement HM would result in a reduction of surgical instruments in both the laminectomy tray (LT) and basic neurosurgery tray (BNT) that is comparable to CR and MP. Methods: Three approaches were tested: CR, MP, and HM. We interviewed 5 neurosurgeons and 3 orthopedic surgeons, at our institution, who performed a total of 5437 spine cases, requiring the use of the LT and BNT over a 4-year (2017–2021) period. In CR, surgeons suggested which surgical instruments should be removed. MP was performed via the mathematical analysis of 25 observations of the use of a LT and BNT tray. The HM was performed via a structured survey of the surgeons’ estimated instrument usage, followed by a cost-based inflection point analysis. Results: The CR, MP, and HM approaches resulted in a total instrument reduction of 41%, 35%, and 38%, respectively, corresponding to total cost savings per annum of $50,211.20, $46,348.80, and $44,417.60, respectively. Conclusions: While hospitals continue to examine perioperative services for potential inefficiencies, surgical inventory will be increasingly scrutinized. Despite MP being the most accurate methodology to do so, our results suggest that savings were similar across all three methods. CR and HM are significantly less laborious and thus are practical alternatives.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666548423000100Surgical instrumentsSurgical traysSpine surgeryOptimizationStandardizationCost savings
spellingShingle Setti Belhouari, HBSc
Jay Toor, MD, MBA
Aazad Abbas, HBSc
Johnathan R. Lex, MB, ChB
Michael R. Mercier, MD, MHS
Jeremie Larouche, MD, MSc
Optimizing spine surgery instrument trays to immediately increase efficiency and reduce costs in the operating room
North American Spine Society Journal
Surgical instruments
Surgical trays
Spine surgery
Optimization
Standardization
Cost savings
title Optimizing spine surgery instrument trays to immediately increase efficiency and reduce costs in the operating room
title_full Optimizing spine surgery instrument trays to immediately increase efficiency and reduce costs in the operating room
title_fullStr Optimizing spine surgery instrument trays to immediately increase efficiency and reduce costs in the operating room
title_full_unstemmed Optimizing spine surgery instrument trays to immediately increase efficiency and reduce costs in the operating room
title_short Optimizing spine surgery instrument trays to immediately increase efficiency and reduce costs in the operating room
title_sort optimizing spine surgery instrument trays to immediately increase efficiency and reduce costs in the operating room
topic Surgical instruments
Surgical trays
Spine surgery
Optimization
Standardization
Cost savings
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666548423000100
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