4
Invest in instrument tracking
If an infection occurs, you owe it to yourself and your patients
to isolate any suspect equipment immediately.
"All our equipment has code numbers," says Dr. Memmo. "We're
able to track all the equipment trays. We can identify when a piece of
equipment was sterilized, and which autoclave it was sterilized in. We
know which tray was with which patient, and who was working that
day. Everything is trackable."
5
Allow for adequate storage space
Though the Berkeley Medical Center had been open for less
than a year, storage space became a critical challenge when it
expanded its offerings. "We had to kind of backtrack and find creative
ways to create storage," says Ms. Sinsebox. "When we were planning
for just GI and ophthalmology, we didn't need too much storage,
because they don't have that much equipment, but the other special-
ties added additional needs."
To achieve peak efficiency, says Dr. Memmo, you need enough
space to store excess equipment and excess instrument trays, so you
have enough inventory to match your case volume. "If doctors are
ever waiting around for instruments, or if a case needs to be delayed
because instruments aren't ready, that's a failure," he says. "We try to
go the extra distance." That means, among other things, having
enough storage and enough trays to facilitate what he calls "dual
occupancy" — the ability to perform concurrent surgeries in adjacent
ORs while support staff take care of pre-op prep and post-op turnover.
6
Ask around
You'll never be able to anticipate every design need, so seek
out feedback and insights from as many related disciplines as
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