Surgical Case Carts Categories of Supplies
Surgical Case Cart items Always used:
items that will be used with a high degree of probability for use on the particular case, i.e. drapes, prep kit, anesthesia tubing, gowns, basic instrument set, are usually very predictable.
Routine Surgical Case Cart supplies:
items required in varying quantities by virtually all cases. For example, the number of lap sponges, 4x4’s, needles, and sutures often vary from case to case of the same procedure.
Surgical Case Cart Specialty:
items that might be needed for that particular case. For example, arterial grafts, orthopedic implants, and intraocular lenses are items for which the surgeon generally cannot specify exactly which item will be used prior to the case. There are also instruments or supplies that might be needed only if the case turns out to be more complicated than expected, i.e. an arthroscopic procedure which turns out to require an open incision.
Surgical Case Cart “supply categorizing is a critical step towards optimizing your results. This categorization of materials may seem ‘simple-minded’ but hospitals frequently have difficulty optimizing inventory levels and minimizing handling costs because they are not dealing with handling Surgical Case Cart supplies differently. There is a high probability that each category requires a different supply mechanism.
Example of how Surgical Case Cart categories might be applied.
Surgical Case Cart items Always used:
Surgical Case Cart would be used for those items that can be predicted accurately.
Routine Surgical Case Cart supplies:
Stocked in a Surgical Case Cart in OR rooms for routine items used in varying quantities.
This Surgical Case Cart would be restocked daily.
Surgical Case Cart Specialty items:
Stocked in OR on “Specialty” Surgical Case Cart for items that might be used for procedures in a particular specialty.
Items that 'might' be used are placed on top of the Surgical Case Cart.
This results in the return [on the Case Carts] of items that were not used.
This results in double handling of items picked for the case and then restocked but lowers the labor cost expended.
Appropriate Surgical Case Cart stocking is a delicate balance.
It can only be achieved with careful planning and good information. For example, an item should generally not be stocked on a Surgical Case Cart unless it is used for at least 50% of cases. ( a facility must qualify this % )
A good information system would track the usage of each item on the Surgical Case Carts for each
procedure type so that the percentage of times each item is used could be determined.
With proper planning, a Surgical Case Cart usage rate of about 90% can be achieved for items
stocked on case Surgical Case Carts.
Good backup systems must be in place to supply the items not stocked on Surgical Case Carts.