Separate rooms for patient induction, case set-up and breakdown: Innovative operating room turnover through quality...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Operations Management
• Quality Improvement in Surgery
• Process Engineering in Clinical Settings

Background:

• Operating room (OR) turnover time (TT) is critical for surgical efficiency but is complex due to numerous staff and steps.
• Current OR turnover processes can be inefficient, impacting the number of surgeries performed and potentially patient/staff satisfaction.
• Optimizing OR workflow is essential for maximizing resource utilization and improving patient throughput.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of dedicated support rooms on operating room turnover time (TT).
• To assess the effects of separate induction, set-up, and breakdown rooms on patient and staff safety and satisfaction.
• To develop decision-support models for implementing separate support rooms in OR turnover processes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a case study approach with quality management tools to analyze OR turnover.
• Implemented and observed the use of separate support rooms for patient induction and case breakdown.
• Measured TT reduction and assessed safety and satisfaction metrics post-implementation.
• Developed decision-support models based on operating conditions and surgical characteristics.

Main Results:

• Separate rooms for patient induction and case breakdown facilitate parallel processing, reducing overall OR turnover time.
• The implementation of an induction room demonstrated measurable TT reduction, allowing for an additional surgical case per day.
• Improvements in patient and staff safety, alongside enhanced patient experience, were observed with separate support rooms.

Conclusions:

• Separating physical spaces for specific OR turnover tasks (induction, breakdown) is a viable strategy to enhance efficiency.
• The study proposes a novel framework viewing OR turnover as a series of service modules and interfaces, informed by buffer and coordination theories.
• Decision-support models can guide practitioners in adopting separate support rooms to optimize OR operations.