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Many surgeons and hospital administrators constantly complain about Operating Room efficiency, or lack of it, and there’s good reason for that. OR operations are routinely at the top of the list when it comes time to review the costliest divisions in any healthcare facility. While some hospitals have made a genuine effort to become more efficient and lower costs, others remain complacent about the status quo and don’t want to tinker with a system that they feel is working already. A study released in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons described some low-cost steps which could be taken to achieve greater efficiency and lower operating room costs.

Establish an all-inclusive OR team 

A great advantage can be achieved by implementing a team of individuals who actually work in the operating room, as well as those who are most interested in the procedures and outcomes from the facility. This should ideally include personnel from anesthesia and surgical services, nursing managers, patient rights representatives, and senior-level surgeons. These individuals could have regular ground-level discussions about what works well in the OR, as well as where inefficiencies exist. They could also make recommendations on how some situations might be improved or resolved and consider each of these in the context of hospital budget.

Assign an OR Schedule Manager 

There should be a formal schedule manager appointed to oversee the assigned workflow in the Operating Room, so that it can be made as efficient as possible, even under a heavy workload. A good choice for this kind of manager would be a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) because he/she could have a dual role which also included enforcement of any quality initiatives which are introduced into the OR When things aren’t running smoothly enough, there would be a single person to contact about bottlenecks or slowdowns, so that action items can be identified and addressed.

Install the DinamicOR Back Table 

From the standpoint of workflow efficiency, this improvement will be one that is highly visible, and it will be one whose effects are immediately recognizable. Everyone who works in an OR will recall times when instruments were missing or couldn’t be found, especially at critical times. The DinamicOR Back Table completely overturns this area of inefficiency because it makes more than 90 percent of all surgical instruments visible when they are most needed.

The organization and high visibility make it easy to quickly put hands on any needed instrument, so work can proceed without interruption. The system comes with an adjustable back table, a durable drape, and the DinamicOR+ Workflow Management App, which will detail how other efficiencies can be gained in the operating room.