Summary of variables used in overage and underage cost calculations
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Overage costs, $ | 0.48–1.02 |
| Reprocessing cost, $ | |
| Simple instruments* | 0.19 |
| Complex instruments† | 0.43 |
| Time to reprocess, s | |
| Simple instruments* | 38 |
| Complex instruments† | 86 |
| MDRD technician hourly wage, $‡ | 30.00 |
| Contamination, $ | 0.26 |
| Probability of contamination, % | 5 |
| Duration of time delay, min | 15.35 |
| OR time cost per minute, $ | 34.00 |
| Cost to reprocess tray, $§ | 50 |
| Depreciation, $ | 0.03–0.33 |
| Cost of purchase, $‡ | 30–330 |
| Designated no. of uses | 1000 |
| Underage costs, $ | 1.47–1.71 |
| Peel-packing cost, $ | |
| Simple instruments* | 0.99 |
| Complex instruments† | 1.24 |
| Disposable packaging cost, $‡ | 0.80 |
| Picking cost, $ | 0.11 |
| Time to pick single item, min | 5.5 |
| No. of pick list items, mean | 15 |
| Retrieval time cost, $ | 0.33 |
| Probability of occurrence, % | 11 |
| RN time to retrieve, min | 4 |
| RN hourly wage, $‡ | 45 |
MDRD = medical device reprocessing department; OR = operating room; RN = registered nurse.
↵* Nonhinge, single-hinge and nonluminal instruments.
↵† Multiple-hinge, luminal or sharpness-tested instruments.
↵‡ These data were provided by the accounting department.
↵§ Includes substantial fixed overhead costs that are difficult to allocate to a single tray. As such, the value used was based on the literature.7