The Impact of Single-Use Cystoscopes on Clinical Time Workflow in an Outpatient Setting

Objective To evaluate the change in overall clinical encounter time and clinical capacity after transitioning to single-use cystoscopes (Ambu A/S, Ballerup, Denmark) in an outpatient urology setting. Methods A single-institution prospective study in an outpatient urology procedure clinic was performed. Discrete categories for each portion of nursing care responsibilities were defined, and time spent during each category was recorded. Two separate clinic days were observed and analyzed: one where the clinic exclusively used reusable cystoscopes and the other after the transition to single-use cystoscopes occurred. Additionally, clinic schedules were reviewed from all procedure clinics in the 3-month periods before and after the transition to single-use cystoscopes. Outcomes included overall clinical encounter time and the number of procedures per clinic day. Results There were 12 flexible cystoscopies performed during each of the observed clinic days. Preliminary cystoscope cleaning and transportation tasks by nursing staff were eliminated when utilizing single-use cystoscopes. Average total encounter time decreased from 66 to 44 minutes, resulting in a 34% reduction in clinical encounter time. The median number of flexible cystoscopy procedures increased after the transition from 9 (IQR 7-12) to 16 (IQR 11-17), representing a 78% increase (p=0.003). Conclusions Transition to a completely single-use cystoscopy outpatient procedure clinic improved clinical efficiency and facilitated an increased number of procedures per clinic day.