The OR is the economic backbone of a hospital -- a minute can be worth hundreds of dollars. Hospitals face a daily paradox in trying to maximize OR utilization: surgeons and clinics often find there is little unallocated “open time” to book cases into the future, yet there are frequently large enough chunks of OR time left unused where cases could have been placed. As a result, OR leaders try their best to fill up capacity at the last minute, or it goes underutilized.
This paradox is a result of:
- Block allocation methodology: A fully blocked out schedule is like a highway where every lane is a carpool lane for a different colored car - the total number of cars that highway can accommodate will be sub-optimal
- Volatility in the mix: The number and length of cases that each surgeon and service line performs is inherently not precisely predictable, leading to some service lines needing less time than allocated and others needing more in any given time period
- Bad metrics: Measuring surgeon and service line performance based meaningless metrics like “Block Utilization” makes it very hard to take time away
- Poor “Release hygiene”: OR leaders rely on surgeons or their offices to release operating time. However, time is "hoarded" because historically there has been limited access to additional time when needed.
A much better answer for most hospitals is to create a mix of dedicated blocks and open time. Keeping more open time helps dampen the effect of the four issues above.
In this on-demand webinar, LeanTaaS President and CMO Sanjeev Agrawal will explain:
- Why open time is your “friend” as a surgeon/service line chief /OR administrator
- How iQueue’s suite of tools help create open time and manage it efficiently
- What significant benefits UCHealth, OhioHealth and MultiCare Health have received by creating more open time.
