A simple intervention to reduce the anesthetic pharmacy budget; The effect of price list stickers placed on vaporizers

Abstract

Study objective The study objective is to investigate the effects of a simple price list sticker placed on vaporizers on anesthetic use and costs. The price list only showed the cost per hour of the annually most expensive drugs, which had a low-cost alternative. Design The design is a prospective database study with historical controls. Setting The setting is at operating rooms. Patients All patients are undergoing a surgical procedure under anesthesia in both study periods, except cardiothoracic and day care patients. Interventions The intervention is application of a price list sticker on the vaporizers. Measurements Monthly cost and amount of anesthetic agents used during the 9 months before and after the intervention. Main results After application of the price stickers, the use of both the annually most expensive agents and the anesthetic budget decreased substantially. Most notable was a decrease of 28% in the use of sevoflurane. Conclusions Price sticker on vaporizers may be an effective, simple, and cheap method to reduce anesthetic costs.