CINCINNATI—It was the inefficiencies and lack of organization that Keerthi Kanubaddi saw in his 12 years as a surgical device sales rep that led him to develop ReadySet Surgical.
Device sales reps are responsible for delivering a surgical device, sterilizing it, having it ready to go for surgery and supporting surgeons and medical staff while they use or implant a tool or device.
The problem Kanubaddi saw was that there wasn’t a single efficient path for hospitals to order the equipment and keep everything organized. Sometimes requests would be made less than 24 hours before a surgery. It can take hours to properly sterilize and package equipment, so a last-minute request can cause huge traffic jams.
“I was in a few surgeries where those types of mistakes ended up affecting patient care,” he said. “That was the moment I said if we have the technology and know-how to do it, let’s create a software platform that gets everyone on the same page and communicating. ”
ReadySet Surgical gives surgeons or hospitals a platform to request devices or implants they need for surgeries. Once a request is made through the platform, it is put onto a calendar. That way hospitals can keep track of who they have coming into their facilities, when and for what in a manner that’s compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The platform also helps sales reps know all the cases they’re working on.
Once a sales rep is in the hospital with the equipment, they’re prompted to take pictures of their trays and tag them with a sticker that has a QR code that allows hospital staff to track the equipment and see what’s inside the sterile wrapped tray without having to open it.
“Sterilization can take two hours or longer and at the low end is $30, so it’s an expensive proposition, ” Kanubaddi said.
ReadySet Surgical consists of Kanubaddi and three developers. He plans on hiring four more employees by year-end and then growing to 32 employees by the end of 2017.
ReadySet Surgical is currently deployed at a few facilities on the East Coast and is rolling out locally at Dayton Children’s Hospital. The company is based out of Cintrifuse in Over-the-Rhine and is opening an office at the HCDC’s Business Center.
“We don’t have enough management and transparency of the implantable device supply chain and it costs hospitals, ” he said. “We’re just trying to clear that chaos. “