OR Business Performance is a series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business.   Surgical supplies are a major cost category for hospital ORs. Depending on the specialty and the procedure, supplies may represent 50% or more of total costs per case. Unfortunately, new…

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Preparing patients for surgery at Cullman Regional Medical Center in Cullman, Alabama, used to take about 200 phone calls a day. Here’s a typical scenario: The OR is ready for the next patient. The OR calls the same-day surgery unit and asks if the patient is ready. Same-day surgery says…

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A kanban system seems like a logical method for managing surgical supplies. But it needs a strong foundation to be successful. Kanban, a Lean manufacturing method, relies on visual signals and standard work (related articles). The idea is to be able to tell at a glance that you have what…

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Opening a new hospital gave a New York health system an opportunity to take a fresh approach to the OR supply chain. The 483-bed Orange Regional Medical Center, with 12 ORs, opened in 2011, consolidates surgical volume from 2 smaller hospitals. The Orange Regional Medical Center is part of the…

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If you opened a supply cabinet in one of your ORs, what would you find? For many, the answer might be, “a mess.” That was the situation for Martin Memorial Health Systems, Stuart, Florida. Even though the supply cabinets had par levels, when a supply was running low, clinicians would…

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Stock-outs were the “burning platform” that caused staff and managers to jump into a 2-year project to overhaul a 22-room OR’s supply management. The previous “system” had been a dissatisfier for OR clinicians and supply staff. Supplies in the OR storeroom weren’t kept in any order. Reordering was hit or…

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Three ambulances are headed for the hospital with victims of a multivehicle accident. A fourth ambulance is also en route carrying a 52-year-old man with chest pain. Calls come in from the EMS team, which begins streaming real-time vital signs and diagnostic information to the ED. Realizing multiple critically injured…

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A patient arrives for surgery. As soon as she checks in, she receives a wristband with a small locator tag that monitors her progress as she moves through the surgical process. Behind the scenes, the tag is signaling the surgical department’s real-time locating system (RTLS), which sends notices to OR…

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Are you considering wireless technology for tracking patients, staff, equipment, or supplies? Expert tips are offered by Rick Hampton, wireless communications manager for Partners Healthcare. The Boston-based network includes Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General, and affiliated facilities. Many hospitals are weighing decisions about these technologies, which include RTLS (real-time…

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Staff in the cardiovascular OR area of the new Sheikh Zayed clinical tower at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore will be able to locate certain equipment via computer and use a Skype-like camera system to share images of instruments and supplies with the sterile core and sterile processing unit.…

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