PPE to Scalpels: All Covered?

Gloves, gowns, gauze, drapes, surgical scissors, suture material.

All of this (and so much more) is needed for a successful spay. 

Of course, you already know this. 

Your techs lay it all out like clockwork for every surgery. 

Do you know how much all of these odds and ends cost, though? Does your spay fee really cover all of these?

If they’re not covered, the costs are falling to you and affecting your practice’s profitability.

My tip: implement a surgical suite fee. 

A surgical suite fee will ensure you account for the often-forgotten expenses in surgery pricing.

Items to include in this fee are:

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like caps, gowns and gloves.

• Consumables and disposables like gauze, drapes, and suture material.

• Surgical Instruments like scalpels, retractors, and hemostats.

Some practices will even have two fees to reflect the different levels of complexity in the surgeries.

If you aren’t accurately charging to make up for costs, your practice’s profitability will suffer.

One way I track the profitability of practices is with key performance indicators (KPIs), including a Surgery KPI. 

I list the 5 KPIs I suggest all practices implement in my Guide to Tracking Practice KPIs.