A successful surgery begins well before anyone enters the operating room (OR) – from comprehensive education and training to ensure surgical readiness, listening to the patient’s concerns, collaborating on the surgical plan, charting a course for treatment and then of course, scrubbing in – the operation itself is the culmination of hours of preparation.
Yet the last few years have brought forth a new set of complexities that hospitals and surgeons must prepare for and navigate each day. A recent survey conducted by Sermo and commissioned by Ethicon found that 41% of surgeons believe it is more challenging to practice surgery today than before COVID-19. Hospital and health system cost restrictions, patient backlogs and staff shortages are listed as primary contributors toward a more demanding surgical environment. These challenges underscore the need for optimizing technology and product use for greater efficiencies, all of which may help lead to faster surgeries, shorter hospital stays and fewer readmissions.
So, how do we prioritize preparedness for every surgery?
Optimizing product use
Optimizing product is key for surgical teams and hospitals to enhance efficiency, reduce waste, and maintain outcomes. Employing data analysis in various ways can assist in selecting the most appropriate products.
For example, Ethicon’s Hemostasis Optimization Program (HOP) is a customized approach intended to encourage use of the appropriate adjunctive hemostat in surgical bleeding situations. Partnering heavily across the hospital, from C-suite to the OR staff and surgeons themselves, implementation of HOP across numerous healthcare systems has yielded significant benefits, including substantial cost savings, improved operating room efficiencies, and high satisfaction among surgeons and staff. One large teaching hospital in the U.S. achieved approximately $170K in annual savings and a 15% reduction in hospital spend per unit through the adoption of HOP.1
Additionally, our AITA platform, an automated suture storage and dispensing system coupled with data analytics capabilities, has enabled hospitals to streamline suture inventory management, reduce waste, and promote procedural standardization. These efficiencies have generated up to $270K in annual product cost savings at a pilot hospital and saved 2,200 hours of nurse staff time by reducing suture picking and restocking.2
Lastly, beyond working with the administrative teams to optimize the use of products, we are bringing forward innovations to help reduce complications in the OR. We’ve heard from surgeons that difficult-to-access anatomy and compromised tissue adds to the difficulties of their work in the operating room, particularly when it comes to bariatric, colorectal and thoracic surgeries. Ethicon's ECHELON Powered Staplers have demonstrated improved clinical and economic outcomes in procedures,3 accommodating challenging anatomy and complex cases. As patients often present with comorbidities that increase surgical risks, providing reliable stapling technology becomes crucial.
Flexible contracting and benefits of the full portfolio
It’s important to meet financial goals in healthcare institutions, which is why Ethicon offers flexible contracting solutions that utilize the breadth of our portfolio to create customized options.
Ethicon provides benefits to our customers. One such benefit is tailored product bundles, allowing institutions to maximize savings and ensure that institutions can access clinically differentiated advancements at reduced prices.
An example can be found in a peer-reviewed economic analysis in the Journal of Medical Economics. The study revealed significant cost savings by adopting the full portfolio of energy devices, which was attributed to reduced operating room time, shorter patient stays, and reduced waste disposal. The estimated cost per procedure could be reduced by more than $100.
Surgeon and staff education
It doesn’t stop with just product optimization and flexible contracting – it’s also about improving surgical efficiency and effectiveness. One method is professional education initiatives, which embrace a hybrid teaching model combining traditional and digitally enabled training methods. Offering a comprehensive range of virtual and in-person educational resources provides healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills to use surgical devices safely and effectively.
To enhance efficiency, Ethicon's online learning platforms, virtual reality training, and expert exchange programs offer education in an on-demand format, allowing healthcare professionals to access training at their convenience. So far in 2023, 598 education programs have trained 5,027 healthcare professionals, further reinforcing the positive impact of our commitment to surgeon and staff education in driving efficiency and seeking to foster positive outcomes in surgical practices.
Partnering to overcome challenges
The success of a surgery is built upon extensive preparation and collaboration – all before stepping into the operating room. We are dedicated to supporting hospitals, surgeons, and OR teams.
For more information, please visit www.ethicon.com.
For complete indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and adverse reactions, please reference full package insert.
References:
1. Ferko N, Danker W. Gangoll G. A systematic approach to surgical hemostat use supports standardization and cost efficiencies. Healthcare Purchasing News. Nov 2017-34-35.
2. ADAM Beta Test Figures, 2019 Ethicon, Inc. (Beta test conducted with the first version of AITA -- previously named ADAM -- in 1 hospital over 8 weeks with 32 HCPs and 5 non-clinical staff members across 71 procedures)
3. Miller DL, Roy S, Kassis ES, et al. Impact of Powered and Tissue-Specific Endoscopic Stapling Technology on Clinical and Economic Outcomes of Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery Lobectomy Procedures: A Retrospective, Observational Study. Adv Ther. 2018 Apr 16. doi: 10.1007/s12325-018-0679-z. Review of 3,006 cases between 2012 and 2016 from the Premier Healthcare Database. Data assessed included length of stay, total hospital cost, supply cost, room & board cost, incidence of transfusion, and incidence of hemostasis-related complications; all p ≤ 0.05.
©Ethicon US, LLC. 2023. All Rights Reserved. 256993-230823
Sponsored by
