Against Medical Advice Eileen Miller

Interview 39 Nurse anesthetist

10/2/17 Harborview Medical Center
Brian McLucas Providence Regional Medical Center

Why we interviewed Eileen has several years of experience in the OR as a nurse anesthetist and has seen our HMW up close many times
this person:
We really wanted to Is our prototype a viable product? Is the problem real or is our view skewed, based on our fairly limited number of
understand this: interviews with people in the OR and SPD?
We learned this about As far as rising healthcare costs go, our solution is a drop in the bucket. However it could potentially save a hospital
the problem space: thousands of dollars per week. We also learned there is an impact on the patient when they have to be rescheduled
because a specific instrument wont be ready for several hours. This problem mainly impact orthopedic surgeries where
it is often difficult to make sure everything is in place.
We were surprised by: Once/week (for Eileen) there is a surgery where the patient is already under and/or open, and something is missing that
requires 1 to 3 hours to sterilize. Sometimes they can do other parts of the procedure during that time, and sometimes a
quick 30 minute bake is all that is required, but any brief delay can cost a hospital $100s of dollars. Getting a patient
from the OR to the recovery room 5 minutes early can save a hospital $500 (at $100/hr).
Other interesting Often times, there is just a 5 minute delay if an instrument is already in the core, but this adds up at $100/hr. In some
outcomes or learning cases, if something crucial like an implant is missing, there is a 3-hr delay and patients must be re-scheduled. This is a
(how this interview burden on the patient who has taken time off of work. With a 3-hr delay, there is also the opportunity cost of not
might change your next utilizing the OR, in case the medical staff can find something productive to do during that time.
interview)
Eileen thought the prototype was an interesting idea and could eliminate this wasted time. She also suggested that a
clear wrapping around sterilized trays could also help, so surgeons could actually see what was in them as a double-
check. It would be helpful to interview somebody who has greater visibility into the financials of the OR and get their
feedback on these potential time savings.