A survey of the estimated cost of surgical consumable items within trauma and orthopaedic departments
Journal article
Divekar, Omkaar, Pandya, Krushi, Divekar, Anand B. and Kanegaonkar, Rahul 2024. A survey of the estimated cost of surgical consumable items within trauma and orthopaedic departments. Cureus. 16 (7), p. e63793. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.63793
| Authors | Divekar, Omkaar, Pandya, Krushi, Divekar, Anand B. and Kanegaonkar, Rahul |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Introduction The impact of the current economic and environmental climate, both nationally and globally, is further straining the NHS. This has led to scrutiny of high-expenditure areas, including consumables. Clinician's knowledge surrounding health economics is sparse, and we conducted this survey to assess cost-awareness within the Trauma and Orthopaedic (T&O) departmental staff. Methods A questionnaire was digitally distributed to T&O staff in the East Kent Hospitals Trust. This included demographic data and to make estimations of the cost of 10 specialty-specific items. The data were analysed to determine the average, median, and interquartile range (IQR) of the estimated prices and compared to the actual costs. Results Approximately 7.1% of all item estimates were deemed 'correct'. No correlation was seen between years of staff experience and the accuracy of estimates. 'Kenalog 1 mL ampoule' (Kenalog, Bristol-Myers Squibb, NJ) had the highest accuracy of estimation across all responses (13%), whilst both 'kirschner wires' and '3.2 drill bit' had the lowest accuracy (4% each). The median estimated cost was closest to the actual cost for 'cement pack' (median estimate/actual cost = 0.9). The median estimated cost was furthest from the actual cost for 'tourniquet cuffs' (median estimate/actual cost = 0.16). 'Velcro wrist splint' was the item that was the most overestimated (median estimate/actual cost = 1.57), with only two of the 10 items being overestimated ('velcro wrist splint' and 'dynamic hip screw and plate'). The most underestimated item was 'tourniquet cuffs' (median estimate/actual cost = 0.16). Conclusions There is a paucity of knowledge surrounding the cost of specialist T&O consumables. The limitations included the sample size (98 respondents) and geographical area (East Kent Hospitals Trust). This study shows that there is a need for further research into this topic, with long-term outcomes, which may be beneficial both economically and environmentally. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2024, Divekar et al.] |
| Keywords | Cost reduction; Healthcare expenditure; Orthopaedic surgery; NHS England; Medical education |
| Year | 2024 |
| Journal | Cureus |
| Journal citation | 16 (7), p. e63793 |
| Publisher | Springer Nature |
| ISSN | 2168-8184 |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.63793 |
| Official URL | https://www.cureus.com/articles/227978-a-survey-of-the-estimated-cost-of-surgical-consumable-items-within-trauma-and-orthopaedic-departments#!/authors |
| Publication dates | |
| Online | 04 Jul 2024 |
| Publication process dates | |
| Accepted | 03 Jul 2024 |
| Deposited | 19 Aug 2024 |
| Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
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https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/item/98v26/a-survey-of-the-estimated-cost-of-surgical-consumable-items-within-trauma-and-orthopaedic-departments
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