J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T 1 5
the 4K vendor's surgical supplies over the course of a year. The more we spend,
the greater our savings.
Don't ignore the possibility of cashing in on the value of your used equipment.
We found assorted items such as printers, light sources and video boxes that
were collecting dust in our basement. The vendor we chose gave us a lot more
— $150,000 more than what we were going to get from the other vendor — for
When it comes to cost-justifying new OR
equipment, I can't emphasize enough the
importance of getting buy-in from the surgi-
cal team. They're the end-users, so you
have to create opportunities for them to
offer their unfiltered feedback. If you go into
a surgeon's office without giving him the chance to share his thoughts — good,
bad or indifferent — and you tell him, "This is what we're doing," you're guaran-
teed to get some resistance. But if they're invested in the process early on, they
can become powerful allies in making the case with the people who approve
capital equipment purchases.
For us, having the surgeons so intimately involved in working with the 4K
imaging vendor is ultimately what made the investment possible. So my best
advice would be to make a point of finding surgeons in the lounge and having a
cup of coffee with them, so they can talk about the issue at length. Besides, the
kind of frank discussions that arise from face-to-face, sit-down meetings are
infinitely more valuable than the feedback you might receive by reading a few
sentences they might provide on a paper form.
— Susan Alexander, RN, MSN, CPAN
CLINICAL CHAMPIONS
Engaged Surgeons
Help Justify Investments
• BUYING IN Use feedback from surgeons to focus
your search and help build the case for adding
new imaging technology.
