Influence of accessibility and distance in the consumption of disposable equipment in a hemodialysis unit

Background The location of the disposable material in a hemodialysis unit is essential to ensure the effectiveness of the circuits and to provide quality in nursing care. The law of the minimum effort may explain how the accessibility and distance of dressing trolleys can influence the consumption of some health care supplies [1,2]. It is necessary for health managers to look for effective strategies that optimize the use of wound care material without reducing the quality of care [1,3]. The objective was to determine whether the distance that nurses have to walk to access the trolley with the wound care material (gauzes, dressings and 10cc physiological serum), influence on the amount consumed in a hemodialysis unit at the Fundació Puigvert. The research hypothesis is: consumption of those materials will decrease 5% as the distance to access the trolleys increases from 5 to 7 and from 7 to 9 meters.