DOING BUSINESS
BY JESSICA RAAB
In this new reality impacted by the COVID-19 pan- demic, healthcare facili- ties, including ASCs, are being asked to answer dif-
ficult questions. “How can we protect our staff?” “How can we provide our patients with the safest experience and the best surgical outcomes?” And per- haps, the most difficult to answer, “How can we maintain this level of care and safety and still maintain profitability?” A new approach to surgical prod- ucts might be in order. Single-use sur- gical products are not a new concept; in ophthalmology, many facilities use sterile, disposable blades or knives, cannulas and handpieces with lumens, and retinal forceps and scissors. They have never really gained universal traction primarily due to the ready avail- ability of staff to clean and sterilize reusable surgical products, the con- tinuous expense and historically poor quality of consumables, and the impact to the environment due to the waste of single-use supplies and their packaging. Given the pandemic, however, facil-
ities are facing a situation where staff- ing is likely limited, whether due to quarantine requirements, reallocation of responsibilities or even the tradi- tionally small decontamination areas in ASCs that barely allow one person space, let alone enough to accommo- date six feet of safety from another. Single-use products are sterile, ready to use and can speed operating room (OR) turnover with leaner staffing require- ments, enabling managers to use their available team more effectively. What if the cost of consumable prod-
ucts was balanced against the equipment and solutions required, as well as the cost of trained staff proficient in cleaning and maintaining the products? Reusable sur- gical instruments, lenses and equipment demand an initial capital outlay as well as ongoing repair and replacement costs.
In many cases, single-use instruments and lenses are eligible for a recycling program facilitated by the product manufacturer, either contracted at no cost or with a fee per collection.”
— Jessica Raab, Katena Products
The specialized cleaning and steriliza- tion equipment, along with the requi- site cleaning solutions and supplies, are yet another immediate and continuing expense. It might seem counter-intuitive, but over time, operating costs for single- use instruments and lenses are equiva- lent to, or less those of, reusable surgical products when surgeries reach a certain volume. Collaborative analyses indicate that the comprehensive cost of safely cleaning and packaging a single reusable ophthalmic surgical instrument, such as a peel-packed extra, is approximately $6 per instrument. This cost includes the staff time, cleaning supplies, solu- tions and packaging. As the precision of single-use microsurgical instrumenta- tion continues to improve and the eco- nomic value increases, a surgeon can be assured that each instrument used is brand new, consistent in feel and perfor- mance, and terminally sterilized. Well- maintained instruments ensure that the surgeon will complete the procedure in a timely, effective and safe manner, avoid- ing costly delays caused by damaged or missing instruments in the tray.
30 ASC FOCUS OCTOBER 2020 |
ascfocus.org
The environmental concerns relative to the notorious and voluminous bags of used sterile wrap, drapes, gowns and biohazard sharps in the OR suite are legitimate. What if a method of recy- cling existed that allowed single-use instruments and lenses to leave no addi- tional waste footprint? In many cases, single-use instruments and lenses are eligible for a recycling program facil- itated by the product manufacturer, either contracted at no cost or with a fee per collection. Single-use instruments that are made of 100 percent surgical- grade stainless steel can be collected and recycled, so that there is virtually no additional waste. With all the questions and concerns
that facilities are being asked to address in what is becoming the new paradigm, one answer might simply be the safe, reliable performance of single-use, ster- ile instruments and lenses.
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