XHOSPIpro consulting concept for consumables in hospitals
Cost of materials of german hospitals
In 2008, the cost of materials of hospitals in Germany amounted to around 27 billion euros; that is equivalent to 37.6 % of the total costs (Federal Statistics Office). Around half the purchasing volume was for medical supplies. In addition, consumables and commodities also play an important role in other areas such as the food supply for patients. But waste production, raw material and energy consumption and the consumption of water, cleaning products and disinfectants are mostly produced in the hospital during the handling of such products.
A sound assessment of possible optimisations is frequently not possible until all processes have been examined, and in interaction with the departments of the hospital that deal with the product. For this reason, funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Health ("Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Gesundheit" - StMUG), bifa developed the new XHOSPIpro consulting concept and tried it out in four hospitals: diako – the city hospital of the Evangelical Diakonissenanstalt Augsburg, Diakoniewerk München Maxvorstadt in Munich, the Stiftungskrankenhaus Nördlingen hospital and the Ostallgäu- Kaufbeuren hospital.
Relieving the environment and reducing the costs
bifa examined opportunities for using consumables so that the environment is relieved and costs are reduced. In total, 38 analyses were carried out in 18 thematic areas. XHOSPIpro can be used to determine costs, required working time, waste quantities and the consumption of water or cleaning products, which are associated with the use of a consumable in the hospital. The whole sequence is recorded, from the product procurement to transport, use and treatment through to disposal.
This enables a sound comparison to be made between different products, but above all it enables the handling of consumables to be analysed and optimised. The consulting concept links three elements: the identification of possible optimisations through interviews and discussions with hospital employees from different departments, data collection on site by bifa together with hospital employees, and documentation and evaluation of the data using the XHOSPIpro software.
XHOSPIpro Software
The XHOSPIpro software was developed together with the Environmental Protection in Hospitals workgroup of the Bavarian Hospitals Association ("Bayerischen Krankenhausgesellschaft") and PD Dr.-med. H.-M. Just, Head of the Institute for Hospital Hygiene in the Klinikum Nuremberg, and with funding from the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Health. The results of the investigations in the four hospitals show that use of all kinds of different products in hospitals continues to have substantial potential for optimisation.
Around half of the alternatives examined bring about a reduction in costs. The opportunities for influencing the quantity of waste are also substantial. Of the eleven investigation topics that lead to a reduction in the quantity of waste produced, eight also result in a reduction in costs. A total of 16 measures lead to a reduction in water consumption.
A detailed description of the project is given in bifa-Text No. 54.
(Available in German only)
