5 Tips to Reduce Delays in the Operating Room

Delays in the operating room can be prevented. Five ways to reduce delays include define on-time starts, scheduling, patient preparation, team morale, and tracking. These delays can increase costs for the facility and valuable time lost in the operating room. 

1. Define on-time starts and communicate them with every member of the surgical team. The start time could be defined as the moment patients are taken into the preoperative area, when anesthesia starts or when the surgeon makes the first cut. These definitions set clear expectations on everyone's arrival time at the hospital. Being transparent with this data and how late starts impact the facility can also help to reduce it. Provide the operating room costs and turnover time delays’ financial impact on the facility can help.

2. Scheduling each surgeon based on their needs and preferences can help reduce delays. Surgeons often prefer block scheduling. Work with chronically late surgeons to develop a better timeline to increase utilization. Some surgeons may need to start later in the day while others could take advantage of earlier times. Some centers even penalize surgeons who are chronically late. Set a benchmark for how many cases your center needs per day and work with the physicians, nurses and schedulers to meet these goals.

3. Try to avoid delays upfront as much as possible. This includes gathering patient information and history beforehand as well as making sure patients understand protocol prior to surgery. This could include a combination of phone calls to collect information as well as patient portal utilization so patients can enter accurate information online. Ensure the supplies are prepared and information is shared so the procedure is ready to begin as soon as the surgeon arrives.

4. Give appropriate incentives for staff to improve turnaround times and on-time starts. There are other types of incentives to promote good habits, including additional PTO days, catering lunch and recognition programs. 

5. Tracking procedure times can also help in reducing delay. By knowing how long each surgeon needs to each procedure they perform, the operating rooms can be scheduled more efficiently. The surgeon’s process should also be examined for inefficiencies. This information should be shared with the entire surgical team to make them aware of any processes that can be improved or streamlined.

These factors should be carefully examined when a facility is looking to reduce their delays. Any small delay can have a greater impact on the entire facility so they should be routinely monitored and corrected to provide the greatest benefit to the hospital and the patients they are serving.

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