In a surgical setting, efficiency is critical. Patients are often undergoing serious operations that carry significant risk. The last thing a clinician wants or needs is to be spending precious time trying to locate equipment or supplies.
Efficiency is, therefore, often best achieved by investing in the correct type of equipment and organising it in a manner that makes sense to doctors and nurses. Continue reading to learn more about the relationship between surgical supplies in Australia and efficiency in a surgical setting.
Why is efficiency important?
Efficiency in a surgical environment is crucial for a range of reasons. Not only does prioritising efficiency tend to promote patient wellbeing (provided that relevant safety protocols are adhered to) but it also enables hospitals to meet rising demands.
Throughout Australia, waiting lists for elective surgery and emergency treatment are quite high. Operating theatres and equipment need to be used in an efficient manner to allow clinicians to treat as many patients as possible within an appropriate time frame.
An efficient surgical environment sees increased productivity, reduced waiting times, improved utilisation of resources, and better patient outcomes.
Achieving efficiency
Efficiency is defined as the ability to reach maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense. What role do medical supplies in Australia play in achieving efficiency?
To start with, clinicians must have access to high-quality equipment and supplies that are fit for purpose. Without appropriate devices, doctors and nurses will encounter great difficulty when trying to diagnose and treat patients.
Access to equipment is one thing — but the equipment won’t necessarily be very useful if it is slow and outdated. While investing in innovation for innovation’s sake is not necessarily a recommended strategy, there are certainly situations where having access to the latest diagnostic and operative devices increases efficiency in a surgical setting.
A point-of-care ultrasound device, for example, enables a clinician to quickly perform diagnostic tests without the need to move patients from their bed to a separate room or facility. This is certainly advantageous in situations where a patient is critically ill or requires urgent attention.
Any type of surgery often requires the use of a number of different consumable products. Having these on hand is critical and requires extensive organisation. Medical supplies in Australia like skin adhesives, tourniquets, drapes and gowns tend to be disposable in nature, meaning stock levels can plummet quickly if not monitored closely.
One strategy to mitigate this risk and ensure efficiency is to use procedural kits. A procedural kit is a package that contains all the tools, products, and devices required to perform a specific procedure. Procedural kits are available for a range of surgical sub-specialties, ophthalmology, gynecology, heart and lung treatments, and theatre procedures. Some suppliers even offer the option for procedural kits to be custom-built, providing your clinicians with confidence that everything they need to perform a particular procedure is right by their side.
The final key to an efficient surgical environment is hygiene. Few medical settings require stronger infection control protocols than surgery. Patients entering surgery are often quite critically ill or suffering from a weakened immune system. The last thing a clinician wants to do is expose them to hospital-acquired infection.
The best way to mitigate this risk is by investing in hospital-grade disinfectant products and equipment. From robots that disinfect a room via UV-C technology to standard (but highly necessary) personal protective equipment, using all the tools at your disposal to create a hygienic environment will reduce the risk of cross-contamination. Clinicians will have confidence that any tool they pick up has been appropriately sterilized and will not put their patient at risk, increasing the efficiency and productivity of a surgical setting.
As a healthcare manager, while you may not directly be involved in the treatment of patients, there is still a range of strategies you can implement to ensure everyone seeking assistance at your facility or clinic benefits from an efficient working environment. One such strategy is investing in innovative, high-quality equipment. For more information about the type of equipment your facility requires or to receive tailored advice about surgical supplies in Australia, contact an experienced medical equipment supplier today.
