Return on Recycling: Reprocessing single-use devices may lower costs, improve efficiency

Although it’s sometimes impossible to have a group of otolaryngologists use the form, let alone the same equipment, a standardized approach is the way to go, said Kenneth T. Hertz, FACMPE, also a principal in the MGMA Health Care Consulting Group. “If you standardize your practices and procedures, you will streamline training for your staff, improve your work flow, lower your costs and generally make your practice more efficient,” he said.

Practice administrators should consult with vendors and colleagues about reprocessing SUDs, but it’s even more essential for physicians to talk with their peers before moving forward.

“Practice administrators have to present an effective case,” Hertz said. “But doc to doc is the most useful conversation. Has the other practice switched to reprocessing devices? Has it been successful? Have the physicians been pleased? And has the change had a financial impact on the practice?”

As with any change in clinical practice, a physician champion should take the lead in introducing a different medical device, Dunn added. Ask TPR vendors for a free trial period to give your physicians a chance to evaluate a reprocessed SUD and allow the practice to assess cost savings, she suggested.

In ambulatory and inpatient settings, where purchasing costs for sterile instruments are shared, tap sterile processing managers to assist in purchasing decisions, Barnes suggested. KP also includes perioperative nurse managers, outpatient department managers, infection preventionists and surgeons in these decisions. Supply chain management should also be involved in purchasing negotiations, and members of the OR team should assist when surgical instruments are involved.

“The process needs to be multidisciplinary so you can understand all of the challenges,” O’Connell said.