orm_november-2023 - 10

Technology
provider shortages greatly reduced the
availability of OR time. Allocated block
time, budgeted hours, and actual usage
were disconnected across surgeons and
service lines, with blocks overallocated
and specific surgeons or specialties
underperforming. The OR governance
committee lacked data, strong physician
leadership, and decision-making
authority; despite best efforts, meetings
became venues to complain rather than
strategic sessions to drive change.
MultiCare Health's first step to addressing
these challenges was to name
physician co-leads to represent each
surgical specialty as well as anesthesia.
The " Block Committee " was rebranded
to the " Utilization Sub-Committee, " with
a charter focused on driving primetime
utilization, throughput, and " collectable
time " (chunks of OR time in an allocated
block that can be repurposed).
AI-powered analytics and data-driven
action further supported efforts to consolidate
cases, uncover open OR time
availability, and streamline the case
scheduling process. Clinic schedules
and surgeon office hours were aligned
for high-volume physicians to enable
block sharing. Weekly regional schedule
reviews were also established across
service lines to further consolidate open
slots. This transparency-built into block
utilization metrics, caseload volume
data, and block utilization dashboards-
further enhanced data-driven and strategic
decision-making systemwide.
By deploying predictive and prescriptive
analytics in its block management
process, MultiCare Health:
* Increased primetime utilization by
24%
* Increased number of cases per
staffed OR by over 50%
* Improved staffed OR utilization by
4%.
Next steps
MultiCare Health plans to further improve
OR optimization by incorporating
contribution margin data into the Utilization
Sub-Committee's analytics. The
ability to assess profitability differences
across service lines will enable more
strategic decision-making for block assignments.
Additional initiatives include
expanding application of analytics for
preblock release optimization and reinforcement
of block sharing practices.
Traditional block allocation and management
practices fail to maximize primetime
OR utilization because of lack
of transparent data, ineffective governance,
and manual approaches. Advanced
analytics help overcome these
barriers by providing transparent data
that supports optimized decision-making.
When coupled with revamped management
processes, data and analytics
help unlock capacity and access, enhance
utilization, and drive significant
financial improvements.
OR committees can thus become instruments
of meaningful change versus
maintaining the status quo. " Advanced
analytics enable optimized block decisions,
scheduling, and resource planning, "
concluded Hunt. " Coupled with
improved management processes, data
unlocks capacity, boosts utilization, and
drives financial gains. " ORM
-Elizabeth Stocum, BSN,
RN, CNOR, solutions marketing
manager, iQueue for
Operating Rooms, at LeanTaaS,
has over 18 years of
perioperative experience and served in
various leadership roles, including
administrator, director of nursing,
and OR manager.
References
Cain M, Fernandez N, Low D, et al.
5 recovering from COVID - improving
operating room capacity using adaptive
clinical management. BMJ Open
Quality. 2021; 10.
Hunt C. OR Manager Conference. September
2023.
EDITORIAL
ADVISORY BOARD
* Amy L. Bethel, MPA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, Education
Coordinator, OR Business Management
Conference, Des Moines, IA
* Heather David, MSN, CRNP, AGACNP-BC, CSSYB,
Patient Safety Analyst III, ECRI, Plymouth Meeting,
PA
* Brian S. Dawson, MSN, RN, CNOR, CSSM, System
VP, Perioperative Services, Common Spirit Health,
Denver, CO
* Claire Everson, RN, CNOR, CCAP, Clinical Educator
and Consultant, Bloomfield Hills, MI
* Diane Fecteau, MSA, RN, CASC, NE-BC, Executive
Director, Maine Medical Center Scarborough Surgery
Center, Scarborough, ME
*
Ayumi Fielden, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, CPAN,
Professional Practice Leader, Houston Methodist
Hospital, Houston, TX
* Cynthia Hess, MSN, RN, FNP-C, RT(R)(CT)(ARRT),
Director of Nursing, Northeast Missouri Ambulatory
Surgery Center, Hannibal, MO
* Tracy Hoeft-Hoffman, MBA, MSN, RN, CASC,
Administrator, Heartland Surgery Center, Kearney, NE
* Beverly Kirchner, BSN, RN, CNOR, CASC, Chief Compliance
Officer, SurgeryDirect, Highland Village, TX
* Natasha Luster, MSN, RN, CNOR, Director of
Surgical and Cardiology Services, Wilson Health,
Sidney, OH
*
Casey Orth-Nebitt, MSN, RN, CNOR, Director of
Surgery, Buena Vista Regional Medical Center,
Storm Lake, IA
* Kaye Reiter, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Perioperative
Executive, Denver, CO
* John Rosing, MHA, FACHE, Executive Vice
President and Principal, Patton Healthcare
Consulting, Naperville, IL
* Shawn A. Sefton, MBA, BSN, RN, President, Sefton
Healthcare Advisors, Boston, MA
* Mark R. Staun, Esq., Hartley Law Group PLLC,
Charleston, WV
* Rosemary Welde, MBA, BSN, RN, BCC, Healthcare
Consultant and Coach, Belmont, CA
* Monica Young, MBA, RN, DNP, FACHE, CNOR,
CASC, NEA-BC, VP, Perioperative Services, Thomas
Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
If you would like to get more involved with
OR Manager, please contact Tarsilla Moura,
senior editor, at tmoura@accessintel.com.
We would love to hear from you!
10
OR Manager | Nov/Dec 2023
www.ormanager.com
https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/10/Suppl_2/A4 http://www.ormanager.com
orm_november-2023

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