Can punctuality decrease OR costs?

Editor's Note

In this study from Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, a first case on-time starts (FCOTS) improvement initiative was linked to a higher frequency of FCOTS, which was independently associated with last case on-time ends (LCOTE) and decreased OR overtime costs.

Of 12,073 cases (6,095 pre- vs 5,978 post-intervention), FCOTS rates increased after intervention (76.1% vs 86.6%), with post-intervention cases twice as likely to start on time.

Starting on time also was tied to a higher likelihood of LCOT and 21.8 fewer overtime minutes per day.

A post-intervention estimated savings of $87,954 in direct OR costs over a 6 month period was associated with the FCOTS initiative.

The initiative included staff education, standardization of pre-procedural workflow, and measuring progress in real-time with video.