Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
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list to note which instruments were used during cleanup after each case. Tracking real-time instrument usage for an extended period will provide an accurate idea of which tools surgeons really need. You might be surprised by the results. For example, we discovered that 60% of instruments contained in our sets were rarely used during orthopedic cases. It's a meticulous and labor-intensive process to pick through individ- ual instruments sent to the OR in order to separate used from non- used items, but being that deliberate is the only way to ensure you have the accurate information that's needed to make real change hap- pen. When you're changing hearts and minds, especially in the OR, you have to drill down to the details in order to make your case. Build a reliable process When you share the instrument usage data with surgeons, highlight the instruments listed on his preference card that go unused. This will pave the way for you to stress that every instrument he might possibly need doesn't have to be included in the set that's delivered to the OR. But it's important to assure him that when he calls for a rarely used item, it will arrive clean and in good repair in a matter of minutes. Rightsized instrument trays work only if you build that type of reliabil- ity into the program. After surgeons have used streamlined instrument sets for a while, ask him how many times in his last 10 cases he's had all the needed instru- ments in the room, ready for use. You need to keep your promise of sup- plying him with the instruments he needs, and keep that promise with high levels of quality. Beware of a misconception you might have to debunk. When we pro- posed the build-to-order program, our surgeons thought they all needed to use the same standardized instrument sets. There were objections 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 3