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Related Experiment Videos

A "zero tolerance for overtime" increases surgical per case costs

M J Tessler1, S J Kleiman, M M Huberman

  • 1Department of Anaesthesia, SMBD-Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, Québec.

Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia = Journal Canadien D'Anesthesie
|November 14, 1997
PubMed
Summary

A "zero tolerance for overtime" policy in operating rooms may not always be cost-effective. Proceeding with late surgeries, even with overtime, was found to be more economical than postponing them.

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Area of Science:

  • Healthcare Economics
  • Surgical Operations Management

Background:

  • Hospitals aim to control Operating Room (OR) costs.
  • A "zero tolerance for overtime" policy is one cost-control strategy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a "zero tolerance for overtime" policy in ORs.
  • To determine if this policy is consistently cost-effective across different cost perspectives.

Main Methods:

  • A case cost analysis was performed using a "test case" scenario.
  • The analysis simulated a surgery starting late, incurring 1.5 hours of overtime.
  • Costs were analyzed from "patient pays," "society pays," and "hospital pays" perspectives.

Main Results:

  • Proceeding with the surgery was more cost-effective than postponing it in all analyzed models.

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  • Costs for proceeding were $1,832.00 (patient), $1,227.40 (society), and $1,215.00 (hospital).
  • Costs for postponing were $1,937.00 (patient), $1,336.80 (society), and $1,436.00 (hospital).

    • Conclusions:

    • A rigid "zero tolerance for overtime" policy may not be consistently cost-effective.
    • The economic benefits of proceeding with surgeries, even with overtime, should be considered.