How to release allocated operating room time to increase efficiency: predicting which surgical service will have the most underutilized operating room time

Franklin Dexter; Rodney D Traub; Alex Macario

doi:10.1097/00000539-200302000-00038

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How to release allocated operating room time to increase efficiency: predicting which surgical service will have the most underutilized operating room time

Journal article

Peer reviewed

How to release allocated operating room time to increase efficiency: predicting which surgical service will have the most underutilized operating room time

Franklin Dexter, Rodney D Traub and Alex Macario

Anesthesia and analgesia, Vol.96(2), pp.507-512

02/2003

DOI: 10.1097/00000539-200302000-00038

PMID: 12538204

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Abstract

At many facilities, surgeons and patients choose the day of surgery, cases are not turned away, and staffing is adjusted to maximize operating room (OR) efficiency. If a surgical service has already filled its allocated OR time, but has an additional case to schedule, then OR efficiency is increased by scheduling the new case into the OR time of a different service with much underutilized OR time. The latter service is said to be "releasing" its allocated OR time. In this study, we analyzed 3 years of scheduling data from a medium-sized and a large surgical suite. Theoretically, the service that should have its OR time released is the service expected to have the most underutilized OR time on the day of surgery (i.e., any future cases that may be scheduled into that service's time also need to be factored in). However, we show that OR efficiency is only slightly less when the service whose time is released is the service that has the most allocated but unscheduled (i.e., unfilled) OR time at the moment the new case is scheduled. In contrast, compromising by releasing the OR time of a service other than the one with the most allocated but unscheduled OR time markedly reduces OR efficiency. OR managers can use these results when releasing allocated OR time.

Operating Rooms - economics

Operating Rooms - organization & administration

Personnel Staffing and Scheduling

Costs and Cost Analysis

Operating Rooms - statistics & numerical data

Resource Allocation - organization & administration

Appointments and Schedules

Resource Allocation - economics

Details

Title: Subtitle: How to release allocated operating room time to increase efficiency: predicting which surgical service will have the most underutilized operating room time
Creators: Franklin Dexter - Division of Management Consulting, Department of Anesthesia, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA. Franklin-Dexter@UIowa.edu
Rodney D Traub
Alex Macario
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Anesthesia and analgesia, Vol.96(2), pp.507-512
Publisher: United States
DOI: 10.1097/00000539-200302000-00038
PMID: 12538204
ISSN: 0003-2999
eISSN: 1526-7598
Language: English
Date published: 02/2003
Academic Unit: Health Management and Policy; Anesthesia
Record Identifier: 9983806267102771

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