Workforce availability on the intraprocedural stage of endoscopy procedures: a single-center time and motion...

An increased demand for endoscopy facilities has stimulated studies on efficiency. This study used a time and motion method to evaluate the effective use of healthcare resources in the intraprocedural phase of endoscopy procedures in a GI department of a tertiary care referral hospital and to identify potential recruitable resources.

Consecutive EGD, colonoscopy, and ERCP were prospectively observed during the study period. For all procedures, total duration in the endoscopy room (TDE) and endoscopy procedure time (PT) were mapped. In the EGD and colonoscopy groups, the activity and "available time" of a second allocated nurse were evaluated. In the ERCP group, endoscopy activity and off-work time of endoscopy staff were evaluated.

Eighty-seven EGDs, 77 colonoscopies, and 55 ERCPs were analyzed. The mean TDE was 27.06 minutes for EGD, 39.32 minutes for colonoscopy, and 67.12 minutes for ERCP. The average PT was 11.31 minutes for EGD, 23.21 minutes for colonoscopy, and 38 minutes for ERCP. The second nurse executed the task in 66.6% of EGDs and 58.4% of colonoscopies, with a mean available time with respect to the mean TDE of 19.52 minutes for EGD and 24.33 minutes for colonoscopy. In the ERCP group, 1 endoscopist and 1 nurse were off-work for an average time of 28.34 minutes per procedure and in the first 10 minutes after patient entry into the room in 80% of cases.

Even with the limitations of a single-center study, our time and motion study showed potentially recruitable healthcare resources during the procedural phase of endoscopic procedures.