J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 1
The Benefits of Build-to-Order Instrument Sets
Unlock hidden efficiencies when you lighten your instrument trays.
T
he key to
improved OR
efficiency
might be hiding in an
unlikely place: your
overcrowded instru-
ment trays. It's
amazing how many
good things have
happened since we
launched our build-
to-order process and
eliminated unneces-
sary items from our trays. For starters, sets are easier to assemble.
We've improved throughput in the sterile processing department, so
much so that we rarely have to delay start times because sets aren't
back to the OR. We've also downsized many cumbersome instrument
trays and decluttered our reprocessing area. And perhaps the most
pleasant surprise of all: The OR and sterile processing are pulling in
the same direction. All this from rightsizing our instrument trays, only
filling them with the tools surgeons routinely use.
Who's using what?
How many of the instruments that your sterile processing techs clean,
sterilize, repack and send to the OR get used? To find out, sit down
with a willing surgeon and review his instrument preference list.
Ensure the list is current and that every item on the list is sent to the
OR for his cases. Next, have surgical techs go line by line down the
Staffing
Christopher
Backous, MHA
• RIGHTSIZING Good things will happen when you eliminate all the unnecessary items
from your instrument trays.
