T I S S U E
M A N A G E M E N T
COST CONSCIOUS
How Much To Upgrade?
The new ultrasonic and advanced bipolar systems let surgeons grasp, articulate, cut and seal safely, and all in 1 step. The combination of safety and efficiency was a benefit we thought was more than worth the price when we upgraded the technology at my facility.
Generator units alone for ultrasound and advanced bipolar systems run $20,000 to $30,000, which is about what you'd expect for the improvements offered by the overhauled software modules inside. The cost you'll really need to ponder has to do with the disposable instruments that do the cutting, sealing and coagulating. This figure can range from $300 to $1,000 per case, depending on the instrument and manufacturer.
And this is where you have to stack your business hat on top of your scrub cap. Consider the patient safety advantages along with your contracts and reimbursements for various minimally invasive abdominal surgeries. Determine just how many procedures across all specialties you could use this instrumentation for — and get all the surgeons who would use it to agree on the technology you're going to choose — so you can hopefully snag a deeper volume discount on disposables pricing.
A word of caution: Clear some extra shelf space in your supply storage area, because all those disposables are going to need a place to stay. The wide variety of handles, tips and jaws are a real boon to patient safety, procedure efficiency and physician ergonomics, but they'll need to be allotted individual placement, as you don't want staff to pick the wrong item for a case. Not only will OR staff have to learn how to assemble, attach and operate the new instruments, they'll have to know definitively which one's which — given the expense, you certainly don't want anyone to pull and open the wrong item.
— Vangie Dennis, BSN, RN,
CNOR, CMLSO
