|
ABSTRACT
Benchmarking the Peri-operative Process
Patient Routing Systems: A Method for Continual Improvement of Patient Flow
and Resource Utilization
David
Watkins, M.D., Ph.D M.D.,
Accepted for Publication, Journal of Clinical Anesthesia
The article presents an overview of the design and application of
a real-time patient routing system, based on bar-code and local area network
technology, that was designed to track the progress of patients during the
perioperative process. We present data on all patients undergoing ambulatory
surgery.
Patients' progress during their surgical stay was recorded at 17 strategic
events using this real-time patient tracking technology. These times were
used to identify inefficiencies in the perioperative process, by identifying
bottlenecks and areas of high variation.
We found that both raw and actual OR utilization efficiency was less than
50%. Points of high variation in a patient's progress occurred during: the
time from admit to the hospital until the patient was ready for the OR; the
time from when a patient was ready for the OR until they were called for,
and; the time a patient spends in the OR pre-operative holding room.
Causes for variation were identified and traced back to individual procedures,
activities, and work processes. Multidisciplinary improvement teams were created
to improve the pinpointed problem areas.
The real-time patient routing system is a process which has proven to be highly
valuable to all participants in the surgical process in bringing about rational,
data driven efficiencies in perioperative services. This process has the potential
to facilitate multidisciplinary cooperation in efforts to contain and reduce
costs of perioperative services.
- Address reprint requests to Professor Watkins, at the Department
of Anesthesiology/Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School
of Medicine, Montefiore University Hospital, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh,
PA 15213-2582
Also see...
Back to Dr.
Watkins' commentary
Back to the Literature
Review front page
|
