Are patients stealing from hospitals?

A new survey from VHA, Inc., a national healthcare group purchasing organization, reveals that patients take numerous items from hospital rooms when they are discharged, costing hospitals at least $52 million annually.

VHA officials say the $52 million figure was extrapolated from a survey of nearly 100 hospital supply executives. Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of the hospitals surveyed reported that patients and/or family members stole items ranging from towels and linens to lightbulbs, TV remotes and telephones.

"Patients need to understand that hospitals are not hotels and do not factor room supplies into the cost of healthcare," said Jack Parker, a VHA supply chain expert.

According to Parker, the financial loss from stolen supplies is not huge – less than $15,000 a year per hospital,  as reported by nearly 30 respondents. However, he said, that money could be used by hospitals to invest in clinical and operational improvements that would result in better patient care.

"Hospitals have to eat the cost for any stolen item, which decreases the hospitals' operating margins, and hospitals are already under enormous financial pressures," Parker said. "VHA looked at this issue as part of our overall focus on helping hospitals manage and improve supply operations, supply inventories and operational efficiency."

The VHA survey found that the most common items stolen from patient rooms are towels, pillows, bed linens, phones and surgical scrubs.

"Given the size of the problem, this obviously isn't a primary area of focus for VHA, but we do have recommendations for hospitals to minimize the potential impact of the problem, such as not overstocking the patient rooms," Parker said. "If you stock eight towels in the room when it should really only have two towels, you may be accidentally giving someone an invitation to take the towels."

Every dollar saved on supply costs will positively impact the hospital's bottom line, said Parker.