The hospital’s CEO was skeptical about the anesthesiologists’ motives. However, the group was able to optimize the OR and really make a difference in the bottom line.
“For block time, the best performing organizations require 80 percent utilization to maintain the block,” said Mr. Peters. “This organization was doing around 940 cases and should have been doing 1,100. They had five times the national average for same-day cancellations and were not doing well with on-time starts. If you don’t have high utilization, you don’t have the right revenue per OR minutes to meet the national benchmarks.”
However, the anesthesiologists were able to work with the surgeons and run the OR more effectively. Surgeons are often data-driven, and it’s the OR leaders’ responsibility to provide them with those numbers. Surgeons can compare their numbers with each other and find a solution for variation.
“We found having surgeons in the room when patients were prepared had an impact because then the patient was positioned appropriately for surgery,” said Mr. Peters. “Also, we implemented anesthesia preference cards. Every surgeon wants a minor difference in drugs or block, and anesthesia preference cards saved four to six minutes of instruction.”
