Patient safety in the operating theatre: how A3 thinking can help reduce door movement

Research has often stressed the significance of reducing door movement during surgery for preventing surgical site infections. This study investigated the possible effect of a lean A3 intervention on the reduction of door movement during surgery in a university medical center in the Netherlands.

A digital counter recorded door movement during 8009 surgical procedures during 8 months. The number of door movements per surgical procedure ranged from 0 to 555, with a mean of 24 door movements per hour across 26 specialisms.

We aimed to reduce door movement in one operating room for orthopedic surgery by a lean A3 intervention. This intervention was executed by means of an A3 report that promotes structured problem solving based on a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.

The steps of the A3 report was followed and completed one-by-one by a multidisciplinary team. The effect of the changes was monitored over the course of 12 months.

The use of a lean A3 intervention resulted in a sustainable decrease of door movements by 78%, from a mean of 24 to a mean of 4 door movements per hour during orthopedic surgery at one OR.

This paper shows the relevance of and the possibility for a reduction of door movement during surgery by lean management methods in general and an A3 intervention in particular. This intervention stimulated dialogue and encouraged knowledge-sharing and collaboration between specialized healthcare professionals and this resulted in a thorough root-cause analysis that provided synergy in the countermeasures-with, according to respondents, a sustainable result.