Operating room data management: improving efficiency and safety in a surgical block.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Surgical Process Optimization
• Health Informatics

Background:

• European healthcare systems face financial pressures, necessitating tools to improve hospital efficiency and patient safety.
• A critical need exists for data-driven solutions to support decision-making in resource-constrained healthcare environments.
• This project focused on developing a system to record and analyze surgical processes within operating theaters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a practical and user-friendly data recording and processing system for surgical operations.
• To provide hospital managers, anesthesiologists, and surgeons with actionable insights to enhance operating theater efficiency.
• To improve patient safety through better management of surgical processes and resource allocation.

Main Methods:

• An Oracle Business Intelligence Environment was utilized to process surgical data into performance dashboards and tables.
• Data analysis was informed by scientific literature and the project team's experience with tracked surgical data.
• A layered security system with distinct profiles (Manager, Anesthesiologist, Surgeon) ensured tailored data access for different user needs.
• The system recorded data from 14,675 surgical operations conducted between 2009 and 2011.

Main Results:

• Operating theater raw utilization increased from 44% in 2009 to 52% in 2011.
• The percentage of unscheduled procedures decreased significantly from 25% in 2009 to 14% in 2011.
• Overtime events reduced from 28% in 2009 to 21% in 2011, while procedure complexity remained consistent.
• A positive impact on operating room management was observed, directly linking procedure complexity, unscheduled procedures, and overtime reduction.

Conclusions:

• The developed system provides valuable information for healthcare managers, anesthesiologists, and surgeons to enhance operating theater efficiency and patient safety.
• The project demonstrates that innovative data solutions can deliver significant value to both patients and healthcare systems, even amidst economic challenges.
• Implementing such data recording and analysis tools is crucial for optimizing surgical processes and resource management in modern healthcare settings.