University of California San Diego researchers found hospitals could “significantly reduce surgical waste” by using AI to optimize supply lists, according to a Nov. 26 news release.
The study, published in JAMA Surgery, found that auditing surgical preference cards led to “up to $3 million” in potential savings over five months at UC San Diego Health. Researchers analyzed 1,298 preference cards and 432 procedures across its urology, surgical oncology and colorectal departments and found that many listed tools and supplies went unused, driving unnecessary costs and inefficiencies.
The study used AI-powered statistical models to streamline the lists to only the necessary items. Optimizing the lists also helped reduce prep and cleanup time between procedures.
UC San Diego Health is now using the revised lists in real-time surgical settings and exploring ways to automate updates, according to the release.
