Cost of Poor Quality from Expired or Recalled Surgical Items
Definition
Inadequate OR inventory controls allow expired or recalled supplies and implants to remain in circulation, triggering case delays, rework, and potential patient harm when discovered late. Removing and replacing such items consumes staff time and can necessitate repeat procedures.
Key Findings
- Financial Impact: Hundreds of thousands of dollars per year per organization in wasted product, rework, and potential clinical remediation when expired/recalled items reach the field (industry estimates for cost of poor quality in hospital supply chains)
- Frequency: Weekly in many hospitals, with near‑misses and ad‑hoc removal of expired or recalled items from OR stock rooms
- Root Cause: Lack of real‑time inventory visibility and automated controls to prevent recalled or expired items from being used; manual date checking and ad‑hoc recall management in complex OR inventories.[2]
Why This Matters
This pain point represents a significant opportunity for B2B solutions targeting Hospitals.
Affected Stakeholders
Perioperative nurses, Sterile processing department, Supply chain managers, Risk management and quality, Surgeons, Patient safety officers
Deep Analysis (Premium)
Financial Impact
$100,000-$300,000 annually from ED recall response overhead, incomplete recalls requiring rework, and regulatory fines if ED case involved recalled item post-recall notice • $100,000-$300,000 annually from inpatient case undercoding, reduced DRG reimbursement, and rework documentation cycle delays • $100,000-$300,000 annually from lost OR revenue due to case delays, claim denials/rework due to coding mismatch, and reduced throughput
Current Workarounds
A/R analyst contacts OR coordinator for incident details; documents in claim file; files appeal or adjustment request with payer • Analyst contacts materials management or nursing via email/phone; obtains incident details; manually documents in claim file and resubmits with amended codes • Analyst manually pulls outpatient OR supply invoices; compares to materials team consumption reports; escalates variances to supply chain director via email
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Methodology & Sources
Data collected via OSINT from regulatory filings, industry audits, and verified case studies.
Evidence Sources:
Related Business Risks
Uncaptured and Unbilled Surgical Implants and Supplies
Excess Inventory, Expired Stock, and Zero‑Turn Surgical Items
Delayed Billing and Cash Collections from Manual OR Supply Capture
Lost OR Capacity from Stock‑Outs and Supply‑Related Case Delays
Regulatory and Accreditation Risk from Inadequate OR Inventory Controls
Inventory Shrinkage and Unauthorized Use of Surgical Supplies
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