PREFcards Identifies 48% Reduction in Supply Cost Savings
Over 4 Common Surgical Procedures Representing 12X ROI
April 13, 2023
Surgeon preference cards are tools that help ensure consistent and efficient surgical procedure setup. They contain
information about surgeon preferences for needed instruments, implantable items, and other medical supplies used
during a specific surgical procedure. These cards can be used to streamline the surgical process and reduce waste, as well
as save time and money. PREFcards’ software is designed to create and manage surgeon preference cards and to provide
real time business intelligence reports and recommendations.
Background:
The use of surgeon preference cards is effective in improving surgical efficiency and reducing costs. A study by Watanabe
et al. (Watanabe H, 2014) found that the use of preference cards resulted in a 50% reduction in instrument set-up time
and a 20% reduction in instrument tray inventory, leading to significant cost savings. Another study by Russell et al. (Russell
T, 2007) found that the use of preference cards improved surgical efficiency and reduced instrument loss, leading to savings
of over $120,000 per year.
PREFcards is a SaaS (software as a service) product that helps automate the process of creating and managing surgeon
preference cards. It is designed to be easy to use and customizable to fit the needs of different surgical specialties and
procedures. PREFcards software also provides administrators with valuable business intelligence insights to determine the
most cost-effective surgical supply list per procedure while maintaining quality healthcare delivery and patient safety.
Case Study:
To demonstrate the cost effectiveness of PREFcards, a
usage analysis of 4 common procedures performed at
an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) in Las Vegas was
performed. This “Procedure Cost” report is generated
and available with a single keystroke and includes realtime data. Knee arthroscopies (figure 1), shoulder
arthroscopies, breast augmentations, and
abdominoplasties were selected due to their case
volume and preference card accuracy.
The baseline cost of each surgeon’s preference card
was compared against PREFcard’s recommended
supplies for each procedure and the cost saving was
prorated for the number of cases performed over a
year.
The results of our analysis showed that PREFcards was
able to deliver to the surgery center $58,000 in supply
$104.21
$179.32
$326.08
$-
$50.00
$100.00
$150.00
$200.00
$250.00
$300.00
$350.00
Surgeon 1 Surgeon 2 Surgeon 3
Knee Arthroscopy Supply Costs
Figure 1
cost savings. This represents a 48% reduction in costs and a 12X return on investment over the course of a year, even with
an analysis limited to four procedures which represents about 7% of the total surgical volume at this ASC. Given this, an
extrapolated ROI would be over 100X the cost of PREFcards software. Additionally, the use of PREFcards streamlined the
surgical process and reduced the amount of time spent setting up instruments and supplies, leading to increased labor
efficiency and improved patient outcomes.
Surgeon Procedure Supply Costs Cost Savings Cases/Year Est Annual Savings
1 Knee arthroscopy $103.21 $0.00 19 $0.00
2 Knee arthroscopy $178.32 $75.11 167 $12,543.37
3 Knee arthroscopy $282.08 $221.87 66 $14,643.42
4 Breast Augmentation $80.89 $0.00 32 $0.00
5 Breast Augmentation $102.55 $30.66 65 $1,992.90
6 Breast Augmentation $144.10 $66.21 14 $926.94
7 Breast Augmentation $127.63 $44.74 9 $402.66
8 Breast Augmentation $309.28 $227.39 11 $2,501.29
9 Shoulder Arthroscopy $117.83 $0.00 7 $0.00
2 Shoulder Arthroscopy $387.57 $278.74 69 $19,233.06
7 Abdominoplasty $188.87 $0.00 8 $0.00
4 Abdominoplasty $250.89 $83.27 10 $832.70
6 Abdominoplasty $422.75 $245.88 6 $1,475.28
5 Abdominoplasty $282.18 $93.31 40 $3,732.40
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the effective use of surgical preference cards leads to improved surgical efficiency and reduced costs.
PREFcards is the premier surgical preference card software and can automate creation and management of preference
cards. Its real-time business intelligence reports can lead to significant cost savings, patient safety, and quality healthcare
delivery. PREFcards was able to provide a 12X ROI even when limited to only four commonly performed surgical
procedures. The full extrapolated ROI for all procedures is over 100X. This was done by recommending the most costeffective surgical supplies for knee arthroscopies, shoulder arthroscopies, breast augmentations, and abdominoplasties.
The use of PREFcards has the potential to benefit surgical centers and hospitals of all sizes and specialties in supply costs,
labor costs, and improved surgical team satisfaction.
References:
1. Watanabe H, Arita T, Kato M, et al. The effect of using a surgical instrument set-up list on surgical time and costs.
International Journal of Surgery. 2014;12(7):674-677.
2. Russell T, Arnot R, Driscoll P, et al. The use of preference cards in surgical practice. Ann R Coll Surg Engl.
2007;89(3):267-270.
For more information visit www.prefcards.com