Optimizing Profitability through Surgical Operations Analysis

1.Background

Hospital da Cidade, located in Salvador, Bahia, with 132 beds and an annual revenue of approximately R$ 150 million, was contracted by Planserv, a health plan for Bahia State employees, for a surgical marathon encompassing various types of surgeries at a pre-established value. The contracted surgeries included bariatric surgery, cardiac surgery, knee orthopedic surgery, hand orthopedic surgery, and hip orthopedic surgery.

2. Challenge and Objective

The challenge faced by the Controlling Department, led by CFO João Marcelo Alves, was to monitor the P&L generated from each surgery, identify the consumption profile of common and special materials, and detect deviations in surgeon groups' patterns.

3.Initiative and Collaboration

To address this challenge, a collaborative effort was undertaken involving the pharmacy, supply, controlling and nursing departments in a ten-month project. A multidisciplinary team with daily routines and weekly reporting to the CFO was established.

4.Approach

The team established consumption profiles based on surgery type, patient risk level, and average cost of each material from pre-authorized suppliers. The team used MS Excel spreadsheets to calculate margin and gross profit per surgery, consolidating surgeries by surgeon groups. This approach allowed to monitor gross margins and the identification of deviations in consumption patterns by surgical groups.

5.Outcome and Benefits

Through this initiative, hospital's executives could monitor surgery margins and P&L effectively and identify deviations in consumption patterns, enabling corrective actions based on data-driven insights. This led to improved profitability and ensured the hospital's financial sustainability.