Reallocation of operating room capacity using the due-time model.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Surgical Operations
• Resource Allocation

Background:

• Increasing demand for surgical procedures strains limited operating room (OR) resources.
• Existing OR resources are insufficient to meet all requests, necessitating efficient allocation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate the "due-time" (DT) concept for optimizing OR block time allocation.
• To ensure patients receive surgical treatment within an acceptable timeframe post-diagnosis.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of abdominal and gynecologic surgery data.
• Utilized patient deviation from optimal due time (DT) and three additional modifiers.
• Developed a simple model to calculate OR time reallocation among surgical specialties.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the ability to measure and visualize OR resource over/undercapacity using the DT metric.
• The DT-based model indicated potential significant shifts in OR time allocation between surgical programs.
• Visualizations highlight areas of relative OR resource surplus or deficit.

Conclusions:

• The "due-time" (DT) concept is a valid and patient-centered metric for quantifying OR resource utilization.
• A DT-based model provides a transparent and acceptable system for regular OR time reallocation.
• This approach facilitates equitable distribution of OR resources between and within surgical specialties.