STRATEGIC SOURCING & LOGISTICS
21. Regardless of mounting, surgical lighting is cumber- some, diffi cult to maneuver and may not provide adequate illumination.
22. Surgeons may operate in the wrong area or on the wrong organs due to health record problems, lack of visible skin markers or simple distraction/not paying attention.
Jennifer Nageotte
23. The surgical suite remains a hotbed and magnet for healthcare-acquired infections – including superbugs – that may be linked to improper surgical techniques.
24. Turnover time remains too long due to procedural/ patient complications.
Karen Ward
Several executives ventured off the grid, homing in on even more refi ned areas. Jennifer Nageotte, Partner, Diamond Storage Solu- tions, embraces standardization, emphasizing that “planning out thoughtful OR organization and stream- lining/repeating throughout the entire system so each room is set up the same way” was important. Karen Ward, MAOM, RN, CNOR, Clinical Specialist, Gloves & Antiseptics, Mölnlycke Health Care, pushes deeper into the area of standardization, citing the exis-
tence of “too many products of similar function lead- ing to stock availability challenges, picking confusion, wasted storage space.”
For John Freund, Founder and CEO, Jump Technolo- gies, product and service usage reigns and needs to be reined in.
“The lack of attention to accurately recording the waste and consumption of materials during a case is preventing hospitals from understanding what cases are actually costing them and is adding to the overall cost of a case as clinical staff does not know what supplies will actually be used in a case,” he indicated. The “lack of integration, if not interconnectivity or interoperability, between preference card systems, Instrument tracking systems and surgical and patient information systems,” remains a key area of concern, according to Angela Carranza, CST, Lean Certifi ed, Manager of Clinical Resources, Medline Industries. Cory Turner, CMRP, Senior Director, Healthcare Strategy, Tecsys Inc., agrees, noting that “manual clinical documentation takes clinical time and is error prone.” HPN
John Freund
Setting priorities to overcome top OR challenges in surgical suites
by Rick Dana Barlow Cory Turner B David Karchner
ack in the days of yore the surgical suite, then more commonly known as the “operating room” as minimally invasive and other more advanced electronic technology had yet to emerge, largely served as a hospital’s engine generating signifi cant revenue even as it also functioned as a leading cost center. Now decades later in the tech-savvy “Information Age,” the OR – or surgical suite – shares that role with a variety of other departments and specialties, including diagnostic imaging, interventional radiology, clinical laboratory and outpatient services.
Regardless of an increasing number of surgical pro- cedures migrating to outpatient settings, the OR still churns a considerable amount of business even as it faces more cost challenges. In a surgical-suite-as-character- study, Healthcare Purchasing News sought to explore and highlight the key challenges the OR faces today – and likely tomorrow. HPN reached out to more than a dozen clinical and sup-
port service company executives for their insights on what events and issues challenge ORs and surgical suites. HPN provided them with a list of 25 options with the oppor- tunity to choose more than one and to specify their own relevant option if not listed already. HPN categorized the challenges beyond the clinical, fi nancial and operational (which includes administrative) and concentrated on access, attitudes/behaviors/collaboration, convenience/ effi ciency, safety and sterility. You can fi nd the main list on page 8 and useful tips on setting priorities for the easiest and fastest to tackle for quick wins at
https://hpnonline.com/21286570.
10 December 2022 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
hpnonline.com
HPN also asked executive responders to identify the top fi ve of their picks, rank them and explain their reasoning.
David Karchner, Senior Director of Marketing, North America, Operating Room, Enterprise Patient Monitoring, Government Solutions, Draeger Inc.
1. Too much clutter on fl oor, such as equipment, power cords, storage and tools in too small a space as square footage remains lacking. “Space is often at a pre- mium in U.S. operating rooms (OR), and with the continued advancements in technology, these chal- lenges will continue. This is one of the reasons that Draeger continues to evolve our solutions for our customers. For instance, in the OR, we are now offer- ing ‘Care-Centered Workplaces,’ where we combine OR lights, OR booms, anesthesia monitors, anesthesia machines and IT systems under one solution. We’ve made similar advancements to our solutions in the NICU and ICU. While we may not be able to make an OR physically larger, Draeger believes our expertise in the OR from both a technology and professional services standpoint can help our customers achieve the workfl ow effi ciency they desire.”
2. Lack of integration, if not interconnectivity or interop- erability, between electronic imaging, surgical and patient information components. “There is a lot of opportunity to improve integration and interoper- ability in the OR with the goal of reducing integration costs, increasing patient safety, and improving clinical processes. There are some promising movements with
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