Common-sense tips for product evaluation
Infection control professionals looking to cut hospital costs and justify their product evaluation programs should consider the following tips by Robert Garcia, MT, CIC, assistant director of infection control at Brookdale University Hospital & Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY.
* Get rid of the old product as soon as possible. Consolidate the old product on one unit or area if possible until deleted.
* Clear everything with purchasing. Don't step on their toes -- it ruins a relationship you will need in the future. Example: ask them up front if vendors can be allowed to give you a ballpark cost of the item.
* If you don't know where to start, begin by reviewing product categories, such as intravenous therapy, urological products, personnel protective equipment, or disinfection and sterilization monitors.
* Ask the experts. While doing surveillance, ask some nurses if they have concerns with any products. You'd be surprised how many staff members say "I thought no one would ever ask!"
* Regarding kits, ask yourself "Are all the items in this kit necessary?" IV kits and tracheotomy care kits often have prep solutions and dressings that impact on infection prevention. Contact all departments that use the kit and ask them if they use all the items. If not, you're wasting dollars.
* Use your vendors. Business is tough, but health care dollars are tougher. They want your business, so they must be prepared to support not only their own product but the infection control department as well. If they are going to sell you a product or provide a service, require that they contact you periodically to review how things are going. If they turn out to be ghosts, its time to look for another vendor.
* Don't overlook services, e.g., regulated medical and general waste haulers, sharps haulers, equipment cleaning services. Look in your red bags. Are there items that don't belong there? You might as well be bagging dollar bills.
* Ask vendors to arrange on-site visits to another facility that has been using equipment or service that you are reviewing. A penny saved is a penny earned.
* Don't overlook labor costs. Does the product or service reduce or eliminate labor? These may be direct savings depending on the cost of the actual service.
* Standardize, standardize, standardize! Look around. Do you see five different kinds of gowns? Does each department order their own, i.e., what they like? The dollars are flowing out the window.
* Set policy. If the issue is mask usage, list the procedures where masks must be worn; decide what kind of mask is necessary for each procedure; standardize the products; and spell it out in writing. Waste comes when you provide too much choice.
* Give credit where credit is due. If the program was conducted with building services, any reports related to this issue should also have their department name. Keep everyone happy. *
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