Health economic evaluation of a clinical pharmacist's intervention on the appropriate use of devices and cost savings: A pilot study

Background Good management of disposable and reusable supplies may improve surgical efficiency in the operating room (OR) and also corresponds to the best eco-responsible approach. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a clinical pharmacist's intervention in the OR on the non-compliant use of medical devices. We also assessed the economic impact of the pharmaceutical intervention. Materials and methods We conducted a monocentric prospective study in the OR of a University hospital over one year. Three surgical specialties: urologic, digestive and gynecologic were audited after a preparatory phase to optimize usage of medical devices used for surgeries. The supply costs concerning the three specialties were compared before and after the pharmacist intervention. Results One hundred and fifty surgical procedures were audited in digestive (33.3%, n = 50), gynecologic (32%, n = 48) and urologic (34.7%, n = 52) surgeries. With the pharmacist in OR, 51 procedures (34% CI95%[26.4%; 41.6%]) with a non-compliance concerning at least one medical device were found compared to the 50% rate without the pharmacist reported previously (P < .0001). Eighteen percent of surgical procedures had at least one circulator retrieval for the reason “incomplete case cart despite device listed on the case cart list” versus 29.1% before pharmacist intervention (P = .0028). A €33 014 saving associated with the presence of the pharmacist in OR was observed. Conclusions This prospective interventional study showed that the intervention of a pharmacist specialized in the medical device field could significantly reduce non-compliances in medical device use and reduce costs in OR.