Current Status and Optimization of Patients' Waiting Time in Preoperative Waiting Room

The purpose of this study was to describe the current status of patients' waiting time and to explore more practicable and shorter waiting times in the preoperative waiting room.

A prospective observational study.

A prospective observational study was conducted to collect patients' waiting time and the time of its influencing factors. The intensity of anxiety was assessed both in the ward and in the preoperative waiting room. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to build a regression model of waiting time. The area under the curve of receiver operating characteristic was used to evaluate the value of the time of transporting patients.

A total of 277 data related to waiting time were included. The average of patients' waiting time was 25.06 ± 14.20 minutes, which was also the average time for patient to use surgical trolleys and staffs to provide service. The average preoperative total anxiety scores in the ward and preoperative waiting room were 9.53 ± 2.54 and 10.50 ± 2.56, respectively (t = -4.10, P < .05); the need for information scores were 5.31 ± 2.69 and 5.48 ± 2.53, respectively (t = -2.42, P < .05); all were statistically different. When patients were notified to be transported 0 to 5 minutes before the procedure finished, the average waiting time was 12.79 ± 6.56 minutes, which was the shortest (P < .001), without operating room(OR) vacancy or a negative effect on surgeons' waiting time. The area under the curve of receiver operating characteristic was 0.922 (P < .001). The relationship between transport time (X₁), time of procedure finish to time of patient out of OR (X₂), turnover time (X₃), and time of notice to transport patient to time of procedure finish (X₄) and waiting time (Y) was Y = 0.462 - 0.972X₁ + 0.995X₂ + 0.904X₃ + 1.008X₄ (R² = 0.994).

Longer waiting times resulted in increasing patient anxiety, resource usage, and service demands. Patients were notified to transport 0 to 5 minutes before the procedure finished, with an average waiting time of 12.79 minutes. This represented the shortest waiting time. Such a short waiting time could reduce patient anxiety, decrease surgical trolleys usage, and lower service demands, thereby improving efficiency and throughput.