What can hospitals do to reduce their costs while ensuring patient satisfaction and quality of care remains high? Find out more about what you can do to meet economic and environmental sustainability initiatives, infection control strategies and cost reduction pressures.
Is your hospital spending money on unnecessary costs which aren’t improving patient experience?
Is the outcome-base payment model adding extra pressure to find cost-effective solutions?
When every minute spent on patient care adds incremental cost, easy-to-implement technologies that relieve existing pressures are crucial in increasing time to care for Healthcare Professionals and reducing length of hospital stay for patients.
Hospitals must maintain a balance between patient experience and cost of care but cutting costs doesn’t have to mean making a sacrifice. The health of patients and wellbeing of healthcare professionals is essential.
ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Economic and Environmental Sustainability is becoming more and more important in procurement decisions. A good way to cut hospital costs without sacrificing quality is to choose sustainable alternatives.
TRITEMP™ non-contact medical grade infrared thermometer uses zero plastic consumables, unlike traditional contact thermometers such as axilla and tympanic, widely used in US hospitals.
A 900-bed hospital takes between 2-3 million temperature readings per year, that’s 2-3 million single-use plastic probe covers1. On average these cost $0.06 each, this adds up to a huge outlay of $180,000 per year.
This figure doesn’t take into account hidden costs to hospitals such as:
- Probe cover disposal (classified as contaminated medical waste)
- Cost of replacement devices, with breakages of contact thermometers as high as 70% depending on the type of thermometer2
The overall cost of ownership of TRITEMP™ is much less than other traditional contact thermometers. To see how much your hospital is spending on current thermometers, click here for our cost of ownership calculator.
EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY TO CREATE EFFICIENCIES
When used effectively, technology can be one of the best tools for hospitals to improve revenue cycle performance. By adopting new innovative medical devices, nurses’ productivity can be maximized through technology that cuts out the time taken for monotonous tasks such as refilling or disposing of plastic probe covers.
The simple TAP&TAKE functionality means with TRITEMP™, temperature readings can be taken in less than 1 second. This gives nurses back time to do what they do best – care. Making small changes to a routine device such as a thermometer can provide significant benefits for hospitals whilst improving patient comfort.
REDUCING THE BURDEN ASSOCIATED WITH HOSPITAL ACQUIRED INFECTIONS
More than half of Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) are considered preventable3 and up to 80% of infections are spread through contact4.
Temperatures are taken on every patient, on every ward, every single day. And yet hospitals are still using contact thermometers which increase the risk of transmission of infection and therefore HAIs. TRITEMP™ reduces the risk of infection spread because it never comes into contact with the patient, reducing the likelihood of longer stays or hospital readmissions.
HAIs in U.S. hospitals have direct medical costs of at least $28.4 billion each year. They also account for an additional $12.4 billion in costs to society from early deaths and lost productivity.4
To find out more about how you can reduce costs without sacrificing quality please visit https://trimedika.com/ or email jcromie@trimedika.com
FAQs
1. What are the benefits of the TRITEMP™ thermometer?
TRITEMP™ non-contact thermometer has multiple benefits for hospitals including but not limited to:
- Costs are saved by removing the need for purchasing and disposal of single-use plastic probe covers that are used with traditional contact thermometers
- Accurate temperature readings within +/- 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing for quick detection of a patient’s core body temperature
- Removes contact with patients and therefore helps maximize infection control
- Nurses save time at every reading with no probe covers to change, simply TAP&TAKE
2. How can TRITEMP™ help hospitals save money?
The main ways that TRITEMP™ allows hospitals to save money are:
- Eliminates the need for hospitals and IDNs to invest in single use plastic probe covers to be changed between temperature measurements. TRITEMP™ is non-contact so no probe covers are required
- Eliminates the costs associated with disposing of plastic probe covers, as these are classified as contaminated medical waste. Typically, these would be incinerated as part of the hospital’s infection control policy
- Reduces the amount of time to take an accurate temperature reading, unlocking the full potential of staff and specialists, giving them back time to do what they do best – care
- Reduces infection risk and therefore HAIs are reduced
3.What other benefits does TRITEMP™ non-contact thermometer offer?
TRITEMP™ is a non-invasive device which is advantageous for patients or situations where contact would be difficult or disruptive, including when sleeping. These hospital grade thermometers also eliminate the need for millions of unnecessary contact points with patients, which is essential at any time, but especially during a pandemic. TRITEMP™ is easy to use and provides a quick and accurate reading which increases efficiencies among healthcare staff.
References
1 https://www.henleysmed.com/tritemp-non-contact-thermometer-for-healthcare-professionals-2
2 Internal TriMedika research
3 Study: More Than Half of Hospital Infections Could Be Prevented
With Proper Protocols – Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare (psqh.com)
4 Colin Clarke – Infection Prevention Head Nurse, Northern Ireland
5 https://www.cdc.gov/policy/polaris/healthtopics/hai/index.html
Discover more about TriMedika:
TriMedika is an innovative medical technology company that provides the most accurate clinical devices for hospitals worldwide. The first product to market is TRITEMP™, a precision engineered, hospital-grade non-contact thermometer sold in 21 countries internationally and over 1500 hospitals.
