Resource-Release Items Suggested by Panel Members to Provide Revenue to Implement the Wish List for Surgical Expansion at Canmore Hospital, Alta.
| Item no. | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Streamline the preassessment clinic, thereby eliminating the need to add hours to this clinic when an additional day of surgery is considered; a potential saving of $225/d of additional surgery could be realized. |
| 2 | A cheaper method of sterilization could be used in endoscopy, resulting in an overall savings of about $5000/yr in reduced supply costs. |
| 3 | Maintenance costs associated with item 2 would result in a further savings of $5000/yr because the cheaper cleaning solution would not harm the endoscopy equipment to the same extent. |
| 4 | Overtime and callback rates could be reduced (with the addition of a third day of surgery per week). Urgent cases added at the end of days are done at overtime rates, but with an additional surgical day, the need for overbooking and the resulting overtime could be reduced by 30%, and callbacks could be reduced by 10%, resulting in savings of about $16 000. |
| 5 | One less nurse in the operating room. In practice, due to union contract details, this would be difficult to accomplish. |
| 6 | Reduce the number of days the operating room is open to 45 weeks, representing a 10% reduction in expenses, based on a 50-week surgical year. |