OBJECTIVES: Cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgical procedure in Spain, with ~400,000 operations per-year. To continue delivering expeditious treatment to a large and still-growing cataract population, hospitals may wish to seek time-saving digital solutions to enhance efficiency in the existing care paradigm. RFID Cabinets for inventory management of intraocular lenses (IOLs) may facilitate such time savings and realise enhanced efficiency. The research objective was to estimate time-related inefficiencies associated with existing IOL inventory process and to forecast the post-implementation impact of the RFID system

METHODS: An interactive analytic model was built using MS ExcelTM. The variable of efficiency was time associated with the IOL management process. Data collection was based on qualitative and quantitative data that were collected using a structured survey, onsite observations and experience from previous implementations. Key respondents validated the data, thereby increasing their reliability. Salary rates were based on the Economic Research Institute’s Spanish compensation data.

RESULTS:

CONCLUSIONS: RFID cabinets which manage IOL inventory have the potential to create significant time savings in the existing cataract workflow pathway, offering opportunities to improve efficiency while enabling reallocation of resources in the ophthalmology department. Future research could focus on the specifics of this resource reallocation.