Designed to help improve operating room supply chains, Optimizing your Perioperative Supply Chain: A Guide to Improvement Projects is the first such resource in Ontario to collect and organize supply chain improvement strategies specifically for the OR.
It is a compilation of best practices drawn from the experiences, tips and success stories of Ontario hospitals’ perioperative departments that have completed supply chain improvement projects.
Following a well-attended conference on September 30th, where case studies and subject matter experts helped the audience understand the significant implications and foreseeable return on investment of supply chain improvement projects, the guide is now being made available as a free, downloadable resource.
The Guide’s chapters examine four foundational projects: Procedure Card Management; Data Optimization; OR Inventory Optimization and Product Selection and Standardization. There is also a fifth chapter included as a refresher on Project Management.
The guide provides answers to questions such as: What does a properly functioning procedure card look like? How do you assess the current state of your OR inventory? What items should be taken off your pick list? How can you standardize more product?
Since being identified as a key best practice for improvement in surgical efficiency, supply chain improvement has become a growing area of interest. Hospitals that have done the work are experiencing decreases in supply costs, greater staff efficiencies and an overall more collaborative work environment. The 14 Ontario hospitals that participated in an ORSC pilot program reported renewed control over OR inventory, staff satisfaction and lower costs per case.
Development support for the guide was provided by the Ontario Government through the OntarioBuys initiative, and the guide can be found at www.oha.com/ORsupplychain.
To learn more about perioperative supply chain improvement projects and see two leading organization showcase their OR supply chain solutions, take part in OHA’s ‘early morning’ Hospital Operating Room tour, held on November 8th, 2011, during OHA’s HealthAchieve Conference.
To register for this free tour, contact Emi Moshirzadeh at emoshirzadeh@oha.com.