Contact us | Sign in | A A A | U.S.A. U.S.A. (Change) - English
About us Our Businesses Community Investors News/Media Careers
Retained Foreign Object Solutions

Retained Foreign Object Solutions

Aiding in the prevention of retained foreign objects.

Retained Foreign Objects (RFOs) are the most common adverse surgical event reported and have an estimated annual financial impact of $1.1 billion in medical costs to the U.S. According to a newly released clinical study at Mayo Clinic, RFOs occur in 1 out of every 5,500 procedures; more frequently than 1 in 9,000 surgical procedures as cited in a 2003 New England Journal of Medicine study. In addition, the Mayo Clinic study concluded that the majority of RFOs occur in patients with "correct counts" and that manual counting as a primary mechanism to avoid RFOs is unreliable.

Beginning October 1, 2008 CMS will no longer reimburse hospitals for retained objects, and some private payers have already stopped reimbursing. In 2006, the CMS paid out $62,000 per incidence of retained sponges. Additionally, the average legal settlement is $250,000 with many settlements in excess of $1 million.

To protect your patients, your staff and your bottom line, we offer leading technologies designed to assist with counting, detection and documentation in an effort to prevent RFOs.

In the news

Preventing retained surgical items: What role does technology play? OR Manager, November 2009 Opens in a new window

Patient Safety Technologies Signs Contract with Partners HealthCare, to Implement the Safety-Sponge™ System at Brigham & Women's Hospital Opens in a new window

ABC News "Counting Sponges during Surgery" - July 2009 Opens in a new window

Hospitals In Ventura County Fined For Botched Surgeries Opens in a new window

Patient Safety Technologies, Inc. Announces the Adoption of the Safety-Sponge™ System by the First Hospital in the State of Indiana Opens in a new window

CBS/WCCO "New Scan Counts for Surgical Sponges Left Behind" - February 2009 Opens in a new window

NBC News 24 “Medical Mistakes, When Things are Left Behind” – November 2008 Opens in a new window

CBS2 Investigation Uncovers Hospital Mistakes – November 2008 Opens in a new window

“Sponges, surgical instruments miscounted in 13% of surgeries”- American Medical News – September 2008 Opens in a new window

Continuing Education

Visit the clinical center to view our Continuing Education Program "Prevention of Retained Sponges and Towels Following Surgery"

Clinical Studies

Incidence and Characteristics of Potential and Actual Retained Foreign Object Events in Surgical Patients Opens in a new window (© 2008 by the American College of Surgeons)

Bar-coding Surgical Sponges To Improve Safety: A Randomized Controlled Trial Opens in a new window (© 2008 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins)
Feedback: Presource®