What Works

RFID improves medical device management in surgery unit

Located on Manhattan’s upper east side, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) is one of the most comprehensive university hospitals in the world, with leading specialists in every field of medicine. Ranked higher in more specialties than any other hospital in the New York area by U.S. News & World Report, NYP is composed of two renowned medical centers, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and affiliated with two Ivy League medical institutions, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

With dedicated staff, modern facilities, state-of-the-art technology, commitment to quality care, and a role in educating future physicians, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has earned a reputation as a healthcare leader. Whether providing specialty care to the tiniest newborns, performing complex cardiothoracic surgery, or offering comprehensive primary care, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital delivers excellence in healthcare with compassion and caring.

48,000 surgical procdures

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has some of the largest surgical centers in the country, with comprehensive inpatient and day surgery programs performing over 48,000 surgical procedures annually. Their skilled and dedicated specialists incorporate state-of-the-art techniques and technologies for routine procedures and complex surgeries. As one example, the Divisions of Cardiothoracic Surgery are a major referral center for cardiothoracic patients around the country and around the world. The Divisions have been consistently at the forefront of clinical research and the development of innovative treatments in numerous areas of cardiothoracic care. Surgeons specialize in the treatment of patients with acquired and congenital heart disease, and conduct ground-breaking research and clinical work in procedures such as coronary artery bypass, valve repair and replacement, as well as heart, lung and heart-lung transplantation.

Need to improve device management in cardiothoracic surgery

With NYP’s prominence in cardiothoracic surgery, the organization has experienced not only an increase in annual procedure volumes, but also a concurrent increase in the need to procure and store high cost medical devices and implants that are critical to supporting their leading edge medical care. The increased utilization of items such as heart valves and annuloplasty rings has been a catalyst in performing innovative surgical procedures that have led to marked improvements in patient outcomes. However, with their heightened role in the care delivery model the leadership within Perioperative Services identified an opportunity to improve their operational and financial management of these items to align with their goals of excellence as a care provider.

The opportunities for improvement were identified through several pursuits. The first pursuit related to the need to improve the levels of security for device and implant storage, and in turn organizational accountability for their utilization. With their current open-shelf system, there were few mechanisms that helped maintain a secured environment for managing access to the items and prohibiting inappropriate utilization. Without controlled access to the items, there was an inability to accurately track and manage utilization patterns and inventory levels, as well as an increased exposure for loss, damage, and theft.

The second pursuit related to the organization’s interests in moving towards a more perpetual model of inventory procurement and replenishment. As the increasing volumes of device and implant utilization were combined with the high costs of acquisition, it was important for the organization to streamline their procurement processes and optimize their inventory levels to avoid tying up organizational capital on inventory items.

Lastly, given the critical importance these devices and implants played in their surgical procedures, it was important that the organization pursue an effort to avoid any incidents where needed items were unavailable during the time of procedures due to ‘stock out’ occurrences. With a goal to provide the highest levels of patient care while also maximizing the available procedure time within the operating suites, any delays in the completion of cases would be detrimental to the performance of the organization. In order to balance item availability with their joint pursuit of a perpetual inventory approach, it was imperative that inventory PAR levels were accurately set to align with expected case volumes and utilization patterns.

iRISupply Solution by Mobile Aspects

Finding a solution

After evaluating traditional inventory management solutions that used manually dependent technologies such as barcoding, Perioperative Services engaged Mobile Aspects to assist with their inventory management improvement efforts. Due to its unique item level tracking and management capabilities enabled through radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, it was clear to the organization that the RFID-based iRISupply solution offered a significant advantage when compared to the traditional suppliers.

With respect to their pursuits, the system offered a secure, controlled environment for device storage due to its closed-cabinet design and user login technology. Through its RFID-enabled tracking architecture, all individual items stored within the system are continuously monitored, tracked and accounted for, making detailed sets of data available for the analysis of utilization patterns and identification of optimal PAR levels. Lastly, through a web-based software application to view real-time data on inventory levels, daily usage, patient specific case data, and other items, the system makes a comprehensive view of inventory status readily available.

As shared by Martin Dagata, Business Operations Manager, the organization has experienced an improvement in their inventory management goals by implementing the iRISupply system. "The benefit for our organization to move towards a system of perpetual inventory management has been huge. With the iRISupply system as a key contributor to those efforts, we’ve been able to more effectively manage our utilization of expensive devices and implants used in our cardiothoracic surgical areas. As we look towards expanding its deployment to additional areas within our Perioperative Services, we will continue to see great strides in our inventory management capabilities."

Delivering value through technology

After implementing the iRISupply system, NYP was able to realize the achievement of their desired pursuits. Through the storage of the heart valves and annuloplasty rings used for cardiothoracic surgical procedures within the cabinet-based system, a higher level of security and accountability was created for utilization of these items. Due to audit capabilities that associate item access and utilization to the end user, they have effectively eliminated any concerns related to inappropriate utilization of inventory items. In addition, much more direct and measured benefits were realized at it related to their inventory management goals.

By analyzing utilization and inventory level data derived from the iRISupply system and combining that with purchasing pattern data from their enterprise materials management system, Perioperative Services was able to identify an immediate opportunity to reduce their existing on-hand inventory levels and adjust PAR levels. By making these adjustments and optimizing their device and implant purchasing patterns, the organization was able to reduce carried inventory by $230,000.

iRISupply configuration

Currently there are four iRISupply systems installed in the core central supply area of the Cardiothoracic Surgery area at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Perioperative Services intends to expand utilization of the system in additional areas such as Neurological Surgery, General Surgery, and the Ambulatory Surgery Center for improved device and implant management. HPN

For more information on the iRISupply system and other Mobile Aspects
solutions, please contact Mobile Aspects
at (412) 325-1690 or visit their website
at www.mobileaspects.com.