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Hathi K, Nam YSJ, Fowler J, Dishan B, Madou E, Sowerby LJ, MacNeil SD, Nichols AC, Strychowsky JE. Improving Operating Room Efficiency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery: A Scoping Review. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2024; 171:946-961. [PMID: 38769856 DOI: 10.1002/ohn.822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/27/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE One minute of operating room (OR) time costs $36 to 37. However, ORs are notoriously inefficient. There is growing literature on improving OR efficiency, but no formal review of this topic within otolaryngology has been performed. This study reviews and synthesizes the current literature on improving OR efficiency within otolaryngology. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, preprints.org, and medRxiv were searched on November 4, 2022. REVIEW METHODS Published English studies were included if they reported on metrics for improving OR efficiency within otolaryngology. There were no publication date restrictions. Articles were screened by 2 reviewers. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis reporting for scoping reviews was followed. RESULTS The search yielded 9316 no-duplicate articles; 129 articles were included. Most of the studies reported on head and neck procedures (n = 52/129). The main tactics included surgical considerations: hemostatic devices, techniques, and team/simultaneous approaches; anesthetic considerations: local anesthetic and laryngeal mask airways; procedure location considerations: procedures outside of the OR and remote technologies; standardization: equipment, checklists, and personnel; scheduling considerations: use of machine learning for booking, considering patient/surgeon factors, and utilizing dedicated OR time/multidisciplinary teams for on-call cases. CONCLUSION The current literature brings to attention numerous strategies for improving OR efficiency within otolaryngology. Applying these strategies and implementing novel techniques to manage surgical cases may assist in offloading overloaded health care systems and improving access to care while facilitating patient safety and outcomes. Anticipated barriers to implementation include resistance to change, funding, and the current strain on health care systems and providers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kalpesh Hathi
- Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - You Sung Jon Nam
- Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - James Fowler
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Western University, London, Canada
| | - Brad Dishan
- Corporate Academics, Health Sciences Library, London Health Sciences Center, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Edward Madou
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Western University, London, Canada
| | - Leigh J Sowerby
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Western University, London, Canada
| | - S Danielle MacNeil
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Western University, London, Canada
| | - Anthony C Nichols
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Western University, London, Canada
| | - Julie E Strychowsky
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Western University, London, Canada
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Levy BE, Wilt WS, Lantz S, Ballert E, Harris A. Standardization and Visualization of the Surgical Time-Out. J Patient Saf 2023; 19:453-459. [PMID: 37729643 DOI: 10.1097/pts.0000000000001156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The time-out (TO) can prevent adverse events but is subject to TO engagement. We hypothesize transforming the TO to an auditable, active process will improve compliance and engagement. METHODS The passive nature of the current TO was identified as a potential safety issue on staff patient safety culture surveys. Subsequently, the Time Out Engagement and Standardization quality improvement initiative was developed and included a whiteboard checklist to be used in the operating room. As a baseline, 11 TOs were audited concerning engagement and content. Key stakeholders were engaged to determine potential interventions. A TO consisting of 15 elements using a TO whiteboard checklist with role-specific objectives was developed. Plan, Do, Study, Act cycles commenced. After implementation, 17 TOs were audited based on engagement and content. RESULTS Before intervention, engagement varied with nurse participating in 100% compared with anesthesia provider or surgeon participating in 18%. No TO included all 15 elements and only 13% of elements included in all TOs. After implementation of Time Out Engagement and Standardization, anesthesia and surgeon who participated increased to 100% and 76.5%, respectively (P < 0.0001, P = 0.006). The 15 standardized elements of the TO were discussed in 90% of cases. Overall, preintervention 88 elements (57.1%) were completed across all TOs, while postintervention 243 elements (98.8%) were completed (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS We identified a need for increased engagement of the TO based on staff concerns, which were verified through auditing. Implementation of a team-driven intervention and 3 rapid Plan, Do, Study, Act cycles led to measurable improvement of the surgical TO.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wesley S Wilt
- From the Department of Surgery, University of Kentucky
| | - Sherry Lantz
- Department of Surgery, Lexington Veteran's Affairs Medical Center
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Hill I, Olivere L, Helmkamp J, Le E, Hill W, Wahlstedt J, Khoury P, Gloria J, Richard MJ, Rosenberger LH, Codd PJ. Measuring intraoperative surgical instrument use with radio-frequency identification. JAMIA Open 2022; 5:ooac003. [PMID: 35156004 PMCID: PMC8827029 DOI: 10.1093/jamiaopen/ooac003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Objective
Surgical instrument oversupply drives cost, confusion, and workload in the operating room. With an estimated 78%–87% of instruments being unused, many health systems have recognized the need for supply refinement. By manually recording instrument use and tasking surgeons to review instrument trays, previous quality improvement initiatives have achieved an average 52% reduction in supply. While demonstrating the degree of instrument oversupply, previous methods for identifying required instruments are qualitative, expensive, lack scalability and sustainability, and are prone to human error. In this work, we aim to develop and evaluate an automated system for measuring surgical instrument use.
Materials and Methods
We present the first system to our knowledge that automates the collection of real-time instrument use data with radio-frequency identification (RFID). Over 15 breast surgeries, 10 carpometacarpal (CMC) arthroplasties, and 4 craniotomies, instrument use was tracked by both a trained observer manually recording instrument use and the RFID system.
Results
The average Cohen’s Kappa agreement between the system and the observer was 0.81 (near perfect agreement), and the system enabled a supply reduction of 50.8% in breast and orthopedic surgery. Over 10 monitored breast surgeries and 1 CMC arthroplasty with reduced trays, no eliminated instruments were requested, and both trays continue to be used as the supplied standard. Setup time in breast surgery decreased from 23 min to 17 min with the reduced supply.
Conclusion
The RFID system presented herein achieves a novel data stream that enables accurate instrument supply optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Hill
- Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Lindsey Olivere
- School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Joshua Helmkamp
- School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Elliot Le
- School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Westin Hill
- Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University Hospital, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - John Wahlstedt
- Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Phillip Khoury
- School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jared Gloria
- School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Marc J Richard
- Department of Orthopeadics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Laura H Rosenberger
- Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Patrick J Codd
- Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
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Surgical Tray Optimization: a Quality Improvement Initiative that Reduces Operating Room Costs. J Med Syst 2021; 45:78. [PMID: 34231049 DOI: 10.1007/s10916-021-01753-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Surgical trays contain unused instruments which generate wasted resources from unnecessary reprocessing/replacement costs. We implemented a quality improvement initiative to optimize surgical trays for common otolaryngology procedures, and examined the impact on costs, operating room (OR) efficiency, and patient safety.We studied five common otolaryngology procedures over a 10-month period at a single community hospital. We compared pre- and post-intervention outcome measures including instrument utilization, tray set up time, tray rebuilding time, and balancing measures (operative time, instrument recall, patient safety). We estimated cost-savings from an institutional perspective over 1- and 10-year time horizons. Costs were expressed in 2017 Canadian dollars and modeled as a function of surgical volume, labor costs, instrument depreciation, and indirect costs.A total of 238 procedures by six surgeons were observed. At baseline, only 35% of instruments were utilized. We achieved an average instrument reduction of 26%, yielding 1-year cost savings of $9,010 CDN and 10-year cost savings of $69,576 CDN. Tray optimization reduced average OR tray setup time by 2.5 ± 0.4 min (p = 0.03) and average tray rebuilding time by 1.4 ± 0.2 min (p = 0.06). There was minimal impact on balancing measures such as OR time, stakeholder perception of patient safety and trainee education, and only a single case of instrument recall.Surgical tray optimization is a simple, effective, and scalable strategy for reducing costs and improving OR efficiency without compromising patient safety.
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Radiofrequency Identification Track for Tray Optimization: An Instrument Utilization Pilot Study in Surgical Oncology. J Surg Res 2021; 264:490-498. [PMID: 33857793 DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2021.02.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Revised: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 02/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Surgical instrument tray reduction attempts to minimize intraoperative inefficiency and processing costs. Previous reduction methods relied on trained observers manually recording instrument use (i.e. human ethnography), and surgeon and/or staff recall, which are imprecise and inherently limited. We aimed to determine the feasibility of radiofrequency identification (RFID)-based intraoperative instrument tracking as an effective means of instrument reduction. METHODS Instrument trays were tagged with unique RFID tags. A RFID reader tracked instruments passing near RFID antennas during 15 breast operations performed by a single surgeon; ethnography was performed concurrently. Instruments without recorded use were eliminated, and 10 additional cases were performed utilizing the reduced tray. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds of instrument use across cases. Cohen's Kappa estimated agreement between RFID and ethnography. RESULTS Over 15 cases, 37 unique instruments were used (median 23 instruments/case). A mean 0.64 (median = 0, range = 0-3) new instruments were added per case; odds of instrument use did not change between cases (OR = 1.02, 95%CI 1.00-1.05). Over 15 cases, all instruments marked as used by ethnography were recorded by RFID tracking; 7 RFID-tracked instruments were never recorded by ethnography. Tray size was reduced 40%. None of the 25 eliminated instruments were required in 10 subsequent cases. Cohen's Kappa comparing RFID data and ethnography over all cases was 0.82 (95%CI 0.79-0.86), indicating near perfect agreement between methodologies. CONCLUSIONS Intraoperative RFID instrument tracking is a feasible, data-driven method for surgical tray reduction. Overall, RFID tracking represents a scalable, systematic, and efficient method of optimizing instrument supply across procedures.
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Tyan P, Klebanoff JS, Frangieh M, North A, Smith S, Amdur R, Kazma J, Moawad GN. Safety and feasibility of the three-port robot-assisted hysterectomy across uterine weights. J Robot Surg 2020; 15:259-264. [PMID: 32557096 DOI: 10.1007/s11701-020-01101-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
One strategy thought to reduce direct costs associated with robotic surgery is minimizing the number of robotic arms used for a surgery. We aim to demonstrate the safety and feasibility of the three-port robot-assisted hysterectomy across uterine weights. Retrospective cohort study in a tertiary care university hospital of consecutive patients undergoing a three-port robot-assisted hysterectomy for benign indications. All surgeries were performed between 2012 and 2018 by fellowship-trained minimally invasive gynecologic surgeons. Data from 232 patients were collected. Eighty-eight (37.9%) patients had a uterine weight < 250 g, 63 (27.2%) had a uterine weight between 250 and 500 g, 51 (22.0%) had a uterine weight between 500 and 1000 g, and 30 (12.9%) had a uterine weight ≥ 1000 g. Multivariable regression analysis revealed no statistically significant differences between uterine weight groups and time spent in PACU, the total length of hospital stay, or direct cost. When setting the < 250 g as referent, patients with uterine weights between 500 and 1000 g, and more than 1000 g had an operative time that was on average 23.4% and 91.6% longer than patients with uterine weight < 250 g, respectively (p < 0.01). Patients with uterine weights between 500 and 1000 g and more than 1000 g had an EBL that was on average 35% and 156% higher than patients with uterine weight < 250 g, respectively (p < 0.01). Our data support the safety and feasibility of the three-port robot-assisted hysterectomy technique across uterine weights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Tyan
- Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Jordan S Klebanoff
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, George Washington University, 900 23rd St NW, Washington, DC, 20037, USA
| | - Michael Frangieh
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Alexandra North
- University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville Campus, Greenville, SC, USA
| | - Savannah Smith
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Richard Amdur
- Department of Surgery, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Jamil Kazma
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, George Washington University, 900 23rd St NW, Washington, DC, 20037, USA
| | - Gaby N Moawad
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, George Washington University, 900 23rd St NW, Washington, DC, 20037, USA.
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