ORs probably have as much money tied up in their instrument inventory as in surgical supplies, from $1 million to $5 million. Yet automation for instrument tracking is much less common than other materials management technologies. (See related article.) The need for keeping track of your instrument dollars is "similar…

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Anew standard for the first time sets a weight limit of 25 pounds for rigid sterilization containers and their contents. In recent years, orthopedic and neurosurgery loaner sets, in particular, have gotten bigger and heavier, causing strain for the staff. There are also concerns about whether these big sets can…

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Top: Steve Stout, OR business manager, and his staff reorganized the $1.5 million inventory of orthopedic plates and screws. Bottom: Have-available bins provide for just-in-case supplies. Aperfect OR inventory—that's the goal of the OR business management staff at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colo. They've come a long way.…

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The number of items unintentionally left behind after surgery remained at zero for the second full year after counting practices were reinforced at the University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC) in Minneapolis. In contrast, 8 such incidents were reported in the year and a half before the project. In Minnesota,…

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