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Comparing clinical productivity of anesthesiology groups
Amr E Abouleish1, Donald S Prough, Charles W Whitten
1Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555, USA. aaboulei@utmb.edu
Anesthesiology
|September 10, 2002
Summary
Comparing anesthesiology group productivity requires specific metrics. Measurements like "per operating room (OR) site" and "billed American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) units per hour of care" allow meaningful comparisons, unlike "per full-time equivalent." This study validates these methods across multiple groups.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology
- Health Services Research
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Intergroup comparisons of clinical productivity are crucial for strategic planning and operational evaluation in healthcare.
- Previous studies using "per full-time equivalent" metrics were confounded by differing staffing ratios.
- Alternative measurements like "per operating room (OR) site" and "billed American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) units per hour of care" showed promise for meaningful comparisons.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if established productivity measurements allow for meaningful comparisons across multiple anesthesiology groups.
- To validate the use of "per OR site" and "billed ASA units per hour of care" metrics in a broader study.
Main Methods:
- Collected annual data on total ASA units (tASA), time units, cases billed, daily OR sites staffed, and anesthesiologists required.
- Calculated productivity metrics including concurrency, tASA/OR site, hours billed per OR site per day, hours billed per case, and tASA billed per hour of anesthesia care.
- Analyzed data for 11 private-practice and 9 academic groups, determining medians and ranges.
Main Results:
- Productivity measurements influenced by surgical duration (hours billed per case, tASA billed per hour of anesthesia care) differed significantly between private-practice and academic groups.
- Private-practice groups had shorter surgical durations (median 1.5 hours) compared to academic groups (median 2.6 hours).
- While tASA/OR site was similar, academic groups billed more hours per OR site per day (median 7.8 hours) than private-practice groups (median 6.0 hours) to achieve comparable tASA/OR site productivity.
Conclusions:
- The study successfully demonstrated a method for comparing clinical productivity between anesthesiology groups.
- Significant differences in case duration exist between private-practice and academic anesthesiology groups.
- The validated metrics provide a reliable basis for intergroup productivity comparisons in anesthesiology.