Enhancing sterilization supply management: a pre-post study on the impact of an integrated information system in a multi-campus hospital setting.

BACKGROUND

The coexistence of a “multi-campus” model and outsourced services presents complex operational challenges. Traditional fragmented information systems for sterilization supply suffer from data silos, fragmented traceability chains, and low coordination efficiency, severely constraining the management quality of sterile items and posing potential risks to patient safety.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the application effects of an integrated information system in improving the management quality of sterile items, efficiency of multi-campus coordination, and data accounting accuracy.

METHODS

A retrospective pre-post study design was employed. Data were collected from October 2023 to September 2024 (pre-upgrade, control group) and from October 2024 to September 2025 (post-upgrade, intervention group). The compared indicators encompassed the accuracy of sterile item reception, the expiry rate of sterile items, the multi-campus transfer qualification rate, the multi-campus transfer response time, the report generation time, and user satisfaction.

RESULTS

Compared to the period when the old system was in use, the new system significantly improved outcomes: the accuracy of sterile item reception increased from 94.2% to 99.9% (p < 0.001); the expiry rate of sterile items was reduced from 0.089% to 0.025% (p < 0.001); the multi-campus transfer qualification rate improved from 86.0% to 100.0% (p < 0.001); the multi-campus transfer response time was shortened from 30.9 min to 5.5 min (p < 0.001); the report generation time was reduced from 44.9 min to 3.2 min (p < 0.001). Furthermore, user satisfaction scores showed significant improvement across multiple dimensions, including operational convenience (4.3 ± 0.6 vs. 2.7 ± 0.6) and information accuracy (4.4 ± 0.5 vs. 2.7 ± 0.6) (all p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The integrated sterilization supply information system significantly optimized the management process of sterile items, achieving efficient multi-campus resource coordination and automated data accounting. This study provides a replicable digital transformation model for similar multi-campus hospitals, which is crucial for systematically ensuring patient safety, enhancing healthcare quality, and promoting high-quality hospital development.