Reducing Start Time Delays in Operating Rooms

Health care today is facing serious problems: quality of care does not meet patients' needs and costs are exploding. Inefficient utilization of expensive operating rooms is one of the major problems in many hospitals worldwide. A benchmark study of 13 hospitals in the Netherlands and Belgium sh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of quality technology 2009, Vol.41 (1), p.95-109
Main Authors: DOES, Ronald J. M. M, VERMAAT, Thijs M. B, VERVER, John P. S, BISGAARD, Søren, VAN DEN HEUVEL, Jaap
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Business metrics
Computer science
control theory
systems
Control theory. Systems
Cost control
Cost reduction
Departments
Efficiency
Exact sciences and technology
Hospitals
Inference from stochastic processes
time series analysis
Mathematics
Operational research and scientific management
Operational research. Management science
Patients
Probability and statistics
Process control. Computer integrated manufacturing
Quality of care
Reliability theory. Replacement problems
Scheduling
Scheduling, sequencing
Sciences and techniques of general use
Six Sigma
Statistics
Studies
Surgery
Variance analysis
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Summary:Health care today is facing serious problems: quality of care does not meet patients' needs and costs are exploding. Inefficient utilization of expensive operating rooms is one of the major problems in many hospitals worldwide. A benchmark study of 13 hospitals in the Netherlands and Belgium showed that, for a variety of reasons, surgery consistently started too late. Statistical techniques used during the project were statistical graphics, Pareto charts, histograms, box plots, time-series plots, Box-Cox transformations, and ANOVA to determine possible influential factors. It is shown that anesthesia technique and specialty are influence factors. However, the poor planning and scheduling process turned out to be the most important factor in the delay of start times. After introducing a new planning process, the hospitals involved were able to gain substantial cost savings, increased efficiency, and substantial reductions of the delay in start times for surgery.
ISSN:0022-4065
2575-6230
DOI:10.1080/00224065.2009.11917763