Potential Cost Savings at a Single Tertiary Care Center through Implementation of a 340B-compliant Multiuse Drop Protocol for Cataract Surgery

The University of Missouri Healthcare system is seeking to implement a multiuse drop protocol for cataract surgeries, allowing preoperative eye drop bottles to be utilized for multiple patients rather than being discarded after single use. This presents an opportunity for reducing medical waste and achieving considerable cost savings. A key challenge, however, lies in maintaining compliance with the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which currently limits our ability to fully adopt this practice. We additionally encountered barriers including infection control concerns and staff adaptation to new workflows. We detail the barriers we have encountered thus far and present a potential 340B-compliant multiuse drop protocol for cataract surgery that can serve as a guide for other institutions seeking to reduce costs associated with drop waste