Observational study of operating room times for knee and hip replacement surgery at nine U.S. community hospitals

Franklin Dexter; Lori S Weih; Ross K Gustafson; Linda F Stegura; Mary J Oldenkamp; Ruth E Wachtel

doi:10.1007/s10729-006-9997-9

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Observational study of operating room times for knee and hip replacement surgery at nine U.S. community hospitals

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Observational study of operating room times for knee and hip replacement surgery at nine U.S. community hospitals

Franklin Dexter, Lori S Weih, Ross K Gustafson, Linda F Stegura, Mary J Oldenkamp and Ruth E Wachtel

Health care management science, Vol.9(4), pp.325-339

11/2006

DOI: 10.1007/s10729-006-9997-9

PMID: 17186768

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Abstract

Knee (N = 185) and hip (N = 140) replacement cases were studied at nine community hospitals in the midwestern United States to determine whether certain management interventions could decrease case durations and reduce labor costs. Substantive (10 min) reductions in operating room (OR) time per case were not associated with: 1) increases in OR staffing, such as the addition of a surgical assistant; 2) complete elimination of all delays; or 3) increases in anesthesiologists' presence in the ORs. Substantive (10 min) increases in OR time per case were not associated with: 1) reductions in anesthesiologists' presence in the ORs or 2) changes in case scheduling to run fewer ORs, with some cases starting later in the day. Even if these factors had been associated with differences in OR time per case, any changes resulting from management interventions would still not have reduced labor costs. At these hospitals, OR nursing and anesthesia labor costs were fixed costs, because the OR workload averaged only 5.6 hr of cases per day.

Operating Rooms - organization & administration

Time Factors

United States

Observation

Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip

Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee

Hospitals, Community

Efficiency, Organizational

Details

Title: Subtitle: Observational study of operating room times for knee and hip replacement surgery at nine U.S. community hospitals
Creators: Franklin Dexter - Division of Management Consulting, Department of Anesthesia, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. Franklin-Dexter@UIowa.edu
Lori S Weih
Ross K Gustafson
Linda F Stegura
Mary J Oldenkamp
Ruth E Wachtel
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Health care management science, Vol.9(4), pp.325-339
Publisher: Netherlands
DOI: 10.1007/s10729-006-9997-9
PMID: 17186768
ISSN: 1386-9620
eISSN: 1572-9389
Language: English
Date published: 11/2006
Academic Unit: Health Management and Policy; Anesthesia
Record Identifier: 9983806399002771

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