SPOTLIGHT ON A SUPPLEMENT TO BARIATRIC TIMES VOL. 20, NO. 5 6 • MAY JUNE 2023 BARIATRICTIMES.COM TECHNOLOGY F Best Practi ces for Getti ng New Technology Through VAC and into the OR: A Titan SGS® Case Study by JONATHAN THOMPSON, MD, FACS, FASMBS, and JOHN MAGAÑA MORTON, MD, MPH, MHA, FACS, FASMBS, DABOM, AGAF Dr. Thompson is Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division Director of General Surgery and Bariatrics, West Chester Hospital in West Chester Township, Ohio; Medical Director of UC Health Weight Loss Center, Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio; and Founder, Standard Bariatrics, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. Morton is Professor and Vice-Chair, Division Chief, Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut; Inaugural Chair, Committee for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, American College of Surgeons; and Past-president, American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, 2014–2015. Bariatric Times . 2023;20(5–6 Suppl 2):S1–S4. Jonathan Thompson, MD, FACS, FASMBS John Magaña Morton, MD, MPH, MHA, FACS, FASMBS, DABOM, AGAF ew things are more painful to a surgeon than bringing new technology into the hospital. Most of us have touched that hot stove before. Value analysis and supply chain stakeholders in operating room (OR) materials management seem to have a pretty simple function—tell surgeons “no” when they ask for anything new. In two articles previously published in Bariatric Times’ Spotlight on Technology, my co-authors and I explored the process of innovation and how it is iterative and messy. Since becoming commercially available 18 months ago, each of the Titan SGS accounts has endured the stringent value analysis process and overcome what might seem like iron-clad stapling contracts. In this article, John Morton, MD, an experienced supply chain committee member, and I have partnered to give surgeons an overview of the typical approach to introducing new technology into a hospital. We will use lessons from the experience of commercializing the Titan SGS as a eld guide for navigating the value analysis process, including three best practices you can employ to champion new technology. Following the article are interviews with several surgeons on their experiences with the value analysis process for the Titan SGS. Implementation is hard but possible, especially when considering the more than 8,000 cases of sleeve gastrectomy pouch creation 1 using the Titan SGS completed in the last 18 months. Previously, obtaining new technology for the OR was straightforward for surgeons. We wanted it. We got it. Unfortunately, this process has gone the way of usual and customary charges. The new process is much more involved and has multiple stakeholders (Figure 1). Overall, the value analysis process is not intended for easy adoption of a new device or ABSTRACT: Getting a breakthrough medical device through the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the rst step. Next up, hospital purchasing; materials management in the modern operating room (OR) is a complex process. Drs. Thompson and Morton break down the steps of navigating the value analysis process using the Titan SGS as a case study. Several surgeons relay their experiences with the value analysis process as well. KEYWORDS : Sleeve gastrectomy, bariatric surgery, stapler, Titan, Titan SGS, stapling technique, single re, obesity, weight loss surgery, staple line, value analysis, VAC THE VALUE ANALYSIS PROCESS Sponsored by BARIATRIC TIMES May–June 2023 • Volume 20 • Issue 5–6 • Supplement 2 S1