large screen mounted on a wall. "If the surgeon wants to see a
patient's X-ray and MRI, take a picture using a C-arm and capture an
image from the arthroscopy tower, they can put all those images on
different monitors around the patient while doing surgery in real
time."
• Try before you buy. The facilities we spoke with trialed products
from 2 to 4 vendors, with surgeons using each for weeks at a time. "We
evaluated 3 vendors," says Mr. Eisenberg. "I wouldn't recommend going
beyond that. It just gets overwhelming and too hard to achieve consen-
sus in decision making."
When Brandon Thompson, administrator at Tidewater Orthopedics
in Hampton, Va., began working at the facility a few years back, he
decided upgrades were needed — including moving from HD to 4K.
He looked at 3 vendors, and brought in 2 for trialing. The surgeons
overwhelmingly chose the system with the best picture quality.
Don Bucher, CMRP, assistant director of materials management at
Oswego (N.Y.) Hospital, bought 4K systems for the facility's 4 main
ORs in 2018; each OR has 2 31-inch monitors placed on either side of
the operating table, giving the entire surgical team the ability to view
the procedure. "You need to have great communication not just with
your surgeons, but with the nurses and scrubs techs, too, because
you're not in there for every case," he says. "Not only did I have the
doctors fill out evaluation sheets, I had the staff do it, too. Their input
to me was just as good."
Beyond picture quality, administrators also stress ease of use in
terms of setting up the imaging technology between cases as a key
factor to evaluate on behalf of surgeons and staff.
• Consider the case mix. Surgeons of different disciplines might
prefer different systems. Marshall Medical Center (MMC) Health
System trialed 4K systems with its OB/GYN, orthopedic and general
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