Abstract
Background: In 2009, a large academic hospital spent $310,000 on disposable blood pressure cuffs. Identifying this cost issue as a problem, the Director of Value Analysis submitted the problem to a nurse led group, the Nurse Practice Congress (NPC), for resolution. Within the NPC, nurses voted to accept the opportunity and commit to explore evidence based avenues to reduce costs. Methods: Plan, do, check, and act were utilized as the primary method for this value analysis project. A nursing lead interdisciplinary team initiated a quality improvement project answering the question, “Can the hospital incorporate re-usable blood pressure cuffs in the place of disposable cuffs and decrease overall costs?” A literature search was conducted regarding the the use of disposable equipment into the project. The amount of money spent on reusable and disposable blood pressure cuffs was used to gauge the success of the project. The amount spent was collected from 2009-2013 and analyzed to see if there had been a successful practice change within the hospital system. Main findings: A literature search discovered with proper cleaning reusable equipment was appropriate for use in non-acute areas. The team recommended disposable blood pressure cuffs remain in use within intensive care units or areas where immune compromised patients were frequently admitted. Disposable blood pressure cuffs remained accessible to all nursing staff to be used for isolation patients or per nursing judgment. In 2009, the hospital spent $309,835 on disposable blood pressure cuffs. The following years were as follows: 2010: $292,959, 2011: $193,021, 2012: $251,647, and 2013: $222,447. This is a cost savings over four years of $277,266. Conclusion: The result of this nursing led initiative was extremely lucrative for the hospital and within guidelines of evidence based practice. The collaborative team that discussed the issue and examined the literature, and reached a collaborative solution included main stakeholders throughout the hospital.
Highlights
Most hospitals in the United States of America have understood policies and procedures in place to protect the patient from nosocomial infections and cross contamination between patients
In 2009, a large academic medical center asked the question, “Can the hospital incorporate re-usable blood pressure cuffs in the place of disposable cuffs and decrease overall costs?” The question was sent to a nursing led group called the Nursing Practice Congress (NPC) for a solution
The question of using disposable and reusable blood pressure cuffs within a 946 bed academic hospital was presented to the Nurse Practice Congress (NPC) as a cost saving project for the hospital
Summary
Most hospitals in the United States of America have understood policies and procedures in place to protect the patient from nosocomial infections and cross contamination between patients. In 2009, a large academic medical center asked the question, “Can the hospital incorporate re-usable blood pressure cuffs in the place of disposable cuffs and decrease overall costs?” The question was sent to a nursing led group called the Nursing Practice Congress (NPC) for a solution. A literature search using PubMed, Medline Database, and CINAHL discovered published studies regarding the use of equipment (disposable and reusable) and nosocomial infection. In 2009, a large academic hospital spent $310,000 on disposable blood pressure cuffs. Identifying this cost issue as a problem, the Director of Value Analysis submitted the problem to a nurse led group, the Nurse Practice Congress (NPC), for resolution. Within the NPC, nurses voted to accept the opportunity and commit to explore evidence based avenues to reduce costs
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