Most OR leaders use performance reports to inform and guide critical decisions. The problem is that in most hospitals, the data used to create these reports are not reliable. Why? Even the smallest surgery department is too complex for the most sophisticated OR data solution. To yield reliable reports, information…

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OR Business Performance is a series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business.   Does your hospital’s CEO expect you to grow surgical volume in the upcoming fiscal year? Hospitals have always depended on surgical services to drive revenue and profit. Today, in the…

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An electronic form surgeons’ offices use to place scheduling orders has streamlined the preoperative process and sharply reduced case cancellations for a Chicago-area hospital. Cancellations are down from about 12% to less than 1% of cases since the scheduling form was introduced in early 2012. The offices took to the…

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Why does our hospital have a higher rate of venous thromboembolism (VTE) than others in our state? How are others preventing surgical site infections (SSIs) after colorectal surgery? What’s behind our urinary tract infection (UTI) rate? Hospitals in Tennessee are openly discussing issues like these through the Tennessee Surgical Quality…

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Meaningful use is a much-used term in the push for electronic health records (EHRs). Eligible hospitals, critical access hospitals, and physicians can earn federal incentives for adopting and demonstrating "meaningful use" of certified EHR technology (sidebar). Your hospital's meaningful use discussions may be taking place away from the OR. But…

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Surgeons at St Vincent's Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, were frustrated because the scheduled start times for their cases during the day seemed to vary a lot. Using their new dashboard, OR leaders were able to see that they were below the benchmark for scheduling accuracy. "We were not doing a…

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Word has traveled to the executive suite that a high percentage of the OR's cases are starting late. There are also rumors of 1½ hour turnover times. As the manager, you know these don't reflect the OR's actual performance. How can you demonstrate that? One option is a dashboard that…

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As with most busy ORs, we were looking to improve our efficiency. Consultants were brought in and gave recommendations, but it did not change our culture or improve our on-time starts. We had meetings with anesthesia providers, surgeons, and nurses. The results were differing opinions on the definition of an…

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You've no doubt worked hard on turnover time and on-time starts to improve your OR's performance. But there's a factor you may be overlooking—the accuracy of your case-duration estimates. These estimates have a big impact. Underestimate case times, and cases run over. Then subsequent cases either start late, or you…

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The coming year may prove to be one of the most important in the life of your ambulatory surgery center (ASC). You will begin to see the effects of Medicare's revised ASC payment system and will want to monitor closely exactly how the new rule financially affects your ASC. Use…

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