"Would the ORHB software be able to convey in real time to a surgeon during the operation what every item he is using or intends to use costs the hospital"
Nurses and Surgeons have access to a Case Receipt during the surgery that provides a cost breakdown of implants and quantities used at the time you pull the report. This report is accurate up to the moment you pull it, so if you pull it, add an implant, and pull it again, you should expect the newly added implant to show including it's attributed costs.
"...then make recommendations of less expensive but equally effective products?"
We do not currently make recommendations for individual alternative implants. Generally, if a surgeon is asking for a specific implant, we want to empower them to get the job done in the most efficient and effective manner possible, and we assume they are cognizant of the fact that different comparable implants may have a cost difference, and their rep should be looking to keep these in check.
With that said...
* We identify implants that are approved for use by the hospital
* Our data now provides the hospital a means to compare performance cost of similar procedures across surgeons, so if a surgeon isn't looking to minimize costs when possible, we would expect that to self-correct
* As we start to collect pre and post-operative data and associate that to surgeries, we can (and plan) to suggest sets of implants for specific procedures that statistically lead to the most successful outcomes. Whether those are used or not explicitly during the surgery will still be up to the surgeon.
"In addition, would the software indicate what the hospital is being reimbursed for the operation he is performing, so that he at least has a gestalt regarding the economics of what he is doing? Thanks for your responses."
With all of our reports, users can easily identify Hospital Owned (something the hospital just purchases and keeps stock of as inventory) vs Vendor Owned (something the vendor rep pulls out of their closet at the time of need) implants. I think this is what you are asking about with respect to reimbursement. If you are asking about whether we forecast expected insurance reimbursement, we don't currently and I'm unsure if that will be a future feature.
While not one of your questions specifically, prior to closing a case at the end of a surgery, all users digitally sign the case within the app, effectively stating "Yes, we agree the implants/explants/procedures listed are accurate". This not only removes potential inaccuracies, but increases transparancy with all individuals involved. In addition, it bootstraps the process getting the case to procurement and patient billing.
