In a study conducted at Beth Deaconess Medical Center, researchers found that intraoperative waste adds significant and unnecessary costs to surgery expenses. Researchers at BDMC recorded the total number of spine procedures and incidence of intraoperative waste prospectively during a 15-month observational period and a subsequent 10-month awareness program.
Analysis showed that the most common reasons for waste and the main driver of the cost burden was “surgeon changed mind.” Surgical implants were associated with higher cost-per-item wasted and the awareness program was successful in decreasing the costs associated with intraoperative waste by 66 percent.
The program first defined what constituted a “waste” item and then made all surgeons, OR personnel and vendors aware of the definition. Then, clear guidelines were established on what could and couldn’t be used.
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