Operating room efficiency

Abstract

The operating room is the financial hub of any hospital, and maximizing operating room efficiency has important implications for cost savings, patient satisfaction, and medical team morale. Over the past decade, manufacturing principles and processes such as Lean and Six Sigma have been applied to various aspects of healthcare including the operating room. Although time consuming, process mapping and deep examinations of each step of the patient journey from pre-operative visit to post-operative discharge can have multiplicative benefits that extend from cost savings to maintaining the focus on improving quality and patient safety.

Keywords: Constraints; Efficiency; Lean; Six sigma; Turnover time.