son to make the switch, says Ms. Rhodes. She notes that since each
injection comes as a single-dose, patient-prescribed amount, it helps
limit any cross-contamination risk.
While many facilities, surgeons and patients sing the praises of drop-
less surgery, there are a few things to consider before adding it to
your cases. First is its cost. Ms. Rhodes notes that while it saves
patients nearly $400 in post-op drops, the facility must absorb the
added cost-per-case for the injections, which is around $20. "All of our
patients get it, whether they're upgrading their surgery or if it's just a
standard procedure," she adds.
"We talked to our consultants and realized that it wasn't a cost that
we could pass along to the patient, so we absorb the added cost of the
dropless surgery," says Dr. Fisher. "But we consider it a marketing
expense. The word of mouth has been so fabulous that it's resulted in
patients seeking us out."
Plus, fewer phone calls from confused patients means a more effi-
ciently run center. "It cut down on staff spending time returning calls
from patients and calling pharmacies to make sure patients picked up
their drops," he adds. "There's an economic benefit there, too."
Patients will experience some blurriness and floaters after surgery,
notes Ms. Rhodes, so she suggests warning patients about this ahead
of time to minimize any surprise. "We just make sure to tell them that
they'll see 'webs' or 'spiders' in their eye, but once the medicine is
absorbed it will go away," she says. "It's a tradeoff. But most prefer
the floaters to $400 in post-op drops."
OSM
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 3 1
