Date of Award

Fall 9-28-2018

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice

Committee Chair

Nina McLain

Committee Member 2

Mary Jane Collins

Abstract

Rising healthcare costs continue to be a focus of study in the medical and nursing fields in an attempt to reflect the need for optimal patient care with minimal associated expense and elimination of extraneous expense. Examples of extraneous expenses include wasted or incorrect supplies or equipment, nosocomial infections, staffing problems, and length of stay and readmissions (Olsen, Saunders, Yong, National Academic Press, & Institute of Medicine, 2010). One under-studied healthcare expense is the use of disposable versus reusable laryngoscopes. For this project, conduction of a cost-minimization analysis was performed comparing costs related to disposable and reusable laryngoscopes used in anesthesia practice at a 220-bed hospital in North Mississippi over a 6 month period. Data was collected from the anesthesia purchasing agent of the surgical department for both reusable and disposable laryngoscopes. The data was analyzed after being placed in an excel spreadsheet. The results were calculated and disposable laryngoscopes were found to cost $10,480.04 less than the cost of reusable laryngoscopes. The overall cost for disposable laryngoscope use at this facility was found to be $11,755.60 and the overall cost for reusable laryngoscope for use at this facility was found to be $22,235.64. The results were discussed and shared with the anesthesia providers of the facility in which this project was performed and recommendations for future implications were made. Potential risks and benefits related to the use of disposable and reusable laryngoscopes are also explored throughout this paper.

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