Am Surg. 2022 Sep 15:31348221126953. doi: 10.1177/00031348221126953. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education mandates that residency programs incorporate cost awareness into patient care. This presents a challenge for surgical residents because they must understand operating room costs in addition to other expenses. Trainees’ understanding of operating room supply costs is not well understood.
METHODS: A survey was distributed to surgical residents (N = 73) at an urban, university-based residency program. Residents estimated the costs of 21 single-use operating room items. Descriptive statistics and a regression analysis were calculated.
RESULTS: The response rate was 62%. Respondents accurately estimated costs for a median of 7/21 items, with error ranging from 26% to 5438%. They substantially underestimated the three highest-cost items. Increasing post-graduate year did not improve estimation accuracy (β = .233, P = .138).
DISCUSSION: Residents have a poor understanding of single-use item costs, and this does not improve with post-graduate training, suggesting inefficiencies. There is opportunity to educate residents and ultimately decrease surgical health care costs.
PMID:36113130 | DOI:10.1177/00031348221126953
