Improving On-Time First Case Starts: An Integrative Review and Quality Improvement Project Plan

Surgeon late arrival is the major cause of delays in first case starts. The estimated cost of these delays can reach $800,000 a year. The purpose of this integrative review and proposed quality improvement (QI) project plan was to increase the first case on-time starts through surgeon behavior modification.

An integrative literature review and creation of a QI project plan.

The literature review included an independent electronic literature search between the years of 2011 and 2020 through CINAHL PLUS, PubMed, and Medline OVID databases. The search was limited to scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles in the English language, and search terms included: "operating rooms," "delay first cases start," "first case tardiness," and "operating room efficiency." The QI project plan was a three-phase process based on surgeon behavioral modification using educational material, visual reminders, and individualized e-mail notifications of habitually late surgeons.

A synthesis of articles reported proper site marking and surgical consent 15 to 30 minutes before surgery increased first case on-time starts from 55.90% to 66.60% and a mean delay decrease of 9.67 minutes to 7.17 minutes. Visual cues significantly enhanced memory, 64% versus 50%, and e-mail reminders increased compliance, 77% to 86.1%.

As the need for hospital revenue dependency grows, so will the need for more efficient operating rooms. The evidence shows a positive correlation between early arrival by surgeons to the preoperative area and increased on-time first case starts.