Cost Saving Tip: ED saves $5,200 a year with recycled suture sets
ED saves $5,200 a year with recycled suture sets
The ED at Southern Ohio Medical Center in Ports-mouth saved $5,200 last year by switching to recycled suture sets, reports Betsy Marsh, RN, assistant nurse manager for the ED. After use, ED nurses place the instruments in recycling buckets provided by the manufacturer, Indianapolis-based Tri-State Hospital Supply Corp., which provides a $1 rebate per tray.
"The rebate comes to materials management in a lump check monthly, and that check is applied directly to the ED cost centers, resulting in a savings of $5,200 annually," says Marsh. "There is no extra work on the part of the nurses. When the bucket is full, it is sealed, and we are blessed with a wonderful vendor who comes and picks them up."
Sometimes a few of the ED’s standard instruments get mixed in with the recycled ones, but the vendor simply returns those, says Marsh. As a result of using the disposable trays, which cost $6, the number of permanent suture trays, which cost about $75 apiece, were cut from 25 to five. "They were kept as backup in case of a shortage, and for some individual physicians who don’t handle change well. They are hardly ever used now," says Marsh. "The 20 trays were repackaged as individual instruments, thereby increasing our inventory of certain items, and over the years, decreasing the amount spent in replacement of instruments."
Source
For more information on recycled suture sets, contact:
- Betsy Marsh, RN, Assistant Nurse Manager, Emergency Department, Southern Ohio Medical Center, 1805 27th St., Portsmouth, OH 45662. Telephone: (740) 356-5000. E-mail: [email protected].
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