Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Why can't my procedures start on time?

Philip Lebowitz1

  • 1Moses Division, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA.

AORN Journal
|April 15, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Operating room (OR) scheduling improvements still result in delays for 50% of surgeries due to preceding procedure overruns. Optimizing OR schedules requires balancing surgical throughput with patient wait times using reliable data.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Respiratory gas exchange during robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

Journal of clinical anesthesia·2015
Same author

Etomidate is still a valid anesthetic for electroconvulsive therapy.

The journal of ECT·2014
Same author

Reply: To PMID 22301204.

Journal of clinical anesthesia·2013
Same author

A randomized, open-label study of the safety and tolerability of fospropofol for patients requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit.

Anesthesia and analgesia·2011
Same author

Methemoglobinemia in critically ill burned patients.

American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses·2005
Same author

Schedule the short procedure first to improve OR efficiency.

AORN journal·2003
Same journal

Guideline Quick View: Environmental Hygiene.

AORN journal·2026
Same journal

Air Quality as a Cornerstone of Sterile Technique.

AORN journal·2026
Same journal

Brief Limb-Focused Prewarming in Adults Undergoing General Anesthesia: A Randomized Trial.

AORN journal·2026
Same journal

Clinical Issues - July 2026.

AORN journal·2026
Same journal

The Power of Learning From Mishaps and Missteps.

AORN journal·2026
Same journal

Embracing the Future of Care.

AORN journal·2026
See all related articles

Area of Science:

  • Healthcare Management
  • Surgical Operations
  • Health Informatics

Background:

  • Despite improvements in operating room (OR) practices, approximately 50% of subsequent surgical procedures are delayed.
  • These delays stem from preceding procedures exceeding their scheduled duration, impacting OR efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the causes of OR delays and explore strategies for optimization.
  • To highlight the impact of statistical variability on surgical scheduling and patient wait times.

Main Methods:

  • Review of OR scheduling practices and analysis of procedure duration data.
  • Examination of the role of historical data and computerized systems in minimizing overruns.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Reliable historical data and computerized scheduling systems can mitigate, but not eliminate, procedure duration overruns.
  • Statistical variability inherently means half of procedures will exceed the mean duration, causing delays.

    • Conclusions:

    • OR managers face a tradeoff between maximizing surgical throughput and minimizing patient wait times.
    • Effective OR scheduling requires understanding and managing the statistical variability of procedure durations.