Purchasing video equipment for an O...

Purchasing video equipment for an OR can be a tremendous danger Standardization is a simple proces that can interpret many of the problems associated with purchasing video equipment for minimally invasive measures Standardization is rarely undertaken, however, because it frequently is viewed as an unattainable goal when dealing with physicians of multiple specialties.

Many questions arise when considering standardization. Where should we begin? What goals ne to be met? What proces should be followed? Which company's equipment should be evaluated? in what manner much will it cost? Who should be involved in the selection process? for what cause long should the evaluation last?

newly the surgery department of Morton Plant Hospital, Clearwater, Fla, was faced with the challenge of replacing video equipment. It was here that we plant out to answer these questions.

Morton Plant Hospital is common of four community hospitals in the Morton Plant Mease Health Care Alliance and part of the Baycare Health plan The surgery department of the 697-licensed bed, not-for-profit hospital consists of 19 ORs, in which approximately 16500 conducts are performed per year, including general, gynecologic, orthopedic, urologic, neurological, retinal, ophthalmologic, otorhinolaryngologic, plastic, podiatric, thoracic, vascular, and cardiac services. Twenty percent of the total surgeries performed each year are minimally invasive--a technique that has affected virtually each surgical service and that is constantly expanding its applications.

DETERMINING THE BEST nation FOR THE JOB

As the purchase of video equipment was a large capital expenditure, members of the purchasing department and senior management of Morton Plant Hospital typically would make this token of decision. Many facilities are accustomed to basing major purchases primarily forward cost instead of individual department distresss and purchasing agents often are trained to focus onward pricing. As a result, the evaluation and selection proces of a vendor as a common thing [i]or[/i] matter becomes an auction, and the piece of work goes to the lowest bidder rather than to the company that best fittings the needs of the customer.

We questioned, however, whether purchasing agents and senior managers were the best family to make this type of decision or whether their decision making was just a tradition. We indicateed that the people who regularly use the video equipment have the best knowledge and understanding of the privations of the department and, therefore, could best bearing the selection process. We propos that purchasing agents work with a vendor after it had been rareed by facilitating purchase orders and equipment delivery and meeting any follow-up exigencys of the department.

Empowering the users. united of the philosophies of the Baycare Health order is total quality management, which includes meeting the indigences of the customers, process focus, and continuous proces improvement. The personnel involved in a proces (ie, the users) are encouraged to identify the wants of the customers and are empowered to improve the process

As plain three clinical nurses of general, gynecologic, and orthopedic surgery we were entrusted with the responsibility of evaluating and selecting the video equipment. The majority of deeds that require video equipment be met with in these three services, making the even three clinical nurses the mostly qualified to handle the proces Our involvement also allowed impartial gathering of information without influence by means of other products a company tendered last minute lowering of prices, or other factors that can sway a decision maker who is not familiar with the use and handling of equipment.

Senior managers empowered us to negotiate, conduce to as a point of contact with the result representatives, and make the decisions forward how to conduct the evaluation and selection proces Our goals were to

* standardize video equipment to individual company and

* lay open physician ownership of the equipment, based upon the fact that the physicians were the consumers

PREPARING THE PROPOSAL

Approximately the same year before the actual purchase could be made, we stand in want ofed to justify the request for recently made known equipment to the medical capital equipment committee. This was accomplished according to developing a service, outcome, and outlay proposal, which is necessary for any capital request

Service. Service is defined as meeting the customer's expectations. As performances were becoming more advanced, the hospital's video equipment clearly was not meeting the expectations of the physicians in all actions We proposed that providing newer, more advanced technology would better support the physicians and their patients and better convenient their expectations.

We emphasized the many advantages to standardizing video a whole s throughout all surgical services, including more flexibility with scheduling and staffing. As the facility has approximately 100 staff members, standardization creates an opportunity to cross-train among the specialties, providing staff members a greater working knowledge of the equipment. All equipment is interchangeable; thus, having a composing out for repair is not crucial, and there is no ne for loaner equipment.