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Customer Anecdote #1 – Optimizing OR Drug Trays

Customer profile

Status: Non-profit
IDN Member: Yes
Size: >200 bed
Setting: Metro
Kit Check Use: Crash carts and OR trays
Drugs Tracked Annually with Kit Check: >85,000

Background – Stalemate with OR providers

Pharmacy had tried in the past to convince Anesthesia to reduce the number of medications stocked in their OR anesthesia trays with limited success. The anesthesia group was consistently resistant to any change based arguing that they knew what they needed based on experience. At the same time, Pharmacy lacked data to defend or refute Anesthesia’s largely subjective perspective and any attempts to optimize resulted in a stalemate.

Solution – Leveraging data to facilitate discussions

Pharmacy implemented Kit Check to process their anesthesia trays. Leveraging Kit Check’s Advanced Segment Optimization Analytics they were able to clearly see the delta between actual usage and par levels for every drug in the tray.  Pharmacy then engaged collaboratively with Anesthesia to analyze inventory usage and reached a shared agreement on where efficiencies could be gained without impacting provider practice.

Results – 30% optimization

The end result was a 30% reduction in both the amount and cost of the inventory for their anesthesia trays. Furthermore, Pharmacy anticipates there will be a significant reduction in expired waste once the changes are fully implemented. Lastly, the space created through optimization allowed pharmacy to add acetaminophen to the tray which was a drug Anesthesia frequently had to acquire from less convenient storage locations taking their attention away from patient care.

Conclusion – Compromise is key

The final plan was arrived at through a blend of pharmacy data, Anesthesia expertise, and compromise. Even with quantitative data showing limited use, there were still instances where Anesthesia was resistant to changing par levels. Kit Check provided Pharmacy with not only usage data but expiration and cost data so that they could strategize on where to hold the line and where to compromise. The pharmacist in charge of coordinating automation said,

[su_quote]This approach not only helped reduce cost and waste for pharmacy but built a stronger relationship with Anesthesia that will prove valuable for future optimization exercises.[/su_quote]

Interested in seeing the before and after of this customer’s anesthesia tray? Our customer was kind enough to share their optimization worksheet which includes historical usage data from Kit Check.