PROCEDURAL
KITS
IMPROVING
EFFICIENCIES
IN THE
OPERATING
ROOM
Our hospitals are facing a challenging time. Improved operational efficiency
Health services in many countries are under increasing pressure,
with funding growth slowing1 and the number of patients
growing. 2, 3 Consequently, all aspects of healthcare need to be
as economical as possible. Procedure boxes simplified the ordering and invoicing process
considerably. For example, Great Western Hospital reported a
91% reduction in administration time for invoices that required
investigation. In all the hospitals, procedure boxes reduced
order time by up to 6 hours per year. “With kits, I save 30
minutes per month on order management – it is significant,”
comments Davide Magistroni, Head of Purchasing Department
at Clinical Institute Beato Matteo.7
This isn’t easy: decisions on procurement are often made
by individuals or individual trusts. This leads to varying costs
across countries, with the cost of stock in the UK differing by an
average of 10%.4 Of course, cost is not just about price; health
care professionals need the right product for the job. If the
correct equipment is unavailable, operations may be cancelled.
Inventory management can be time-consuming and costly;
overstocking increases waste, and administration and surgery
set-up times. Rationalising and standardising product choices
could save hospitals money, 5, 6 and many are turning to
standardised surgery procedure boxes to help them improve
efficiency. But how much of a difference do they make?
Procedure boxes also improved stock management in theatres,
saving around 5 minutes per day at University Hospital Limerick.
“Kits stack easily,” says Monica O’Brien, Theatre Attendant
at University Hospital Limerick. “I have spare room on the
trolley to carry all the products to the ward without anything
falling.”7
Global healthcare solutions company Medtronic compared
the use of their procedure boxes with individual stock items at
University Hospital Limerick, Ireland; Great Western Hospital,
England; Aker University Hospital, Norway; and Clinical Institute
Beato Matteo, Italy. They studied inventory levels, and order
management, inventory replenishment and surgery set-up
times. The benefits were clear.7
70 Individual stock items
60 Figure 2: Comparison of space taken up by individual stock items
and procedure boxes7
50
40
30
20
10
0
Single items
Procedure box
Figure 1: Average time taken to select products from the theatre press
and place on the trolley ready for surgery (University Hospital Limerick)7
Procedural Boxes