Highlights
- •Operating rooms are responsible for a significant portion of hospital waste.
- •An intervention to reduce unused supplies in surgical packs is feasible.
- •Eliminating unused surgical items from standard packs is cost-saving and reduces waste.
Abstract
Introduction
Operating rooms are responsible for a significant burden of waste and negative environmental
impact. This study aimed to reduce OR waste and improve both environmental impact
and hospital cost savings.
Methods
The unused items in two standard single-use surgical packs were tracked for general
surgery cases. A new pack was created excluding the most frequently unused items.
The feasibility of the new pack was then tested, and a projected cost savings analysis
was performed.
Results
A total of 35 general surgery operations were tracked using two standard packs ($89.51
or $93.68 per case, each 23.2 lbs). The new pack ($46.88 per case, 20.8 lbs) was then
successfully used in nine cases. The projected cost-savings of substituting the new
pack was $45,719 annually with a 2437 pounds annual waste reduction.
Conclusions
Simple and feasible adjustments to standard single-use surgical packs can have a significant
impact on waste reduction and cost-savings.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 16, 2022
Accepted:
October 13,
2022
Received in revised form:
September 23,
2022
Received:
March 17,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
