Institute for Quality Improvement releases knee arthroscopy data
Institute for Quality Improvement releases knee arthroscopy data
The Institute for Quality Improvement, a subsidiary of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) in Wilmette, IL, released its 1999 data for knee arthroscopy with meniscectomy. Forty-six organizations were profiled.
The report included information on 423 cases, with volume per organization ranging from just a dozen cases to nearly 4,000 per year. Among the other findings:
- In 26% of the cases, it was the first procedure of the day, and 64% of the time, those first cases started on time. The on-time start overall was 54%. The time difference between scheduled and actual start time ranged from just a couple minutes late to nearly an hour. And the lower the volume, the more likely it was to start on time.
- Pre-procedure time needed was a median of 60 minutes. That involves having an RN review the chart and talk to the patient a day or two prior to surgery and having the patient arrive, change into a patient gown, and having an IV started. Some organizations also include in the wait time having the knee injected with local anesthetic and waiting 20 minutes before the procedure begins.
- The time taken to do the procedure (including having the dressing applied) is a median of 30 minutes. The longest time is about 55 minutes, and the shortest time is just under 20 minutes.
- It takes a median of 90 minutes after surgery for discharge from the same-day-surgery recovery unit. The low was under 20 minutes, and the high was about 2.5 hours.
- Turnover time — setup time plus cleanup time — was a median of 32 minutes, with 22 of them devoted to setup and 10 to cleanup. But the range went from less than 10 for setup and about 10 for cleanup to nearly 50 minutes for setup and another 40 for cleanup.
- Costs for fluid pump tubing — pumps were used in 77% of the cases, all of which were disposable — was a median of $53, and most were fairly close to that mark. The lower costs were $25 to $30 at two organizations, and at the high end, more than $100 at one center.
- In 77% of the cases, a single shaver blade was used. The remainder used a wand, two shaver blades, or a combination of shaver blade and wand. All but 20 of the cases used disposable shaver blades and wands. The median cost for a blade was $56, with a range of about $30 to more than $175. The median wand cost was $140.
- Adjusted labor cost per procedure included an average RN salary of $20.82 per hour and a tech hourly wage of $13.92.
[The entire report is available for $50 from the AAAHC. Contact the association at (847) 853-6060 or visit the Web site at http://www.aaahc.org.]
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