Utilization of operating room time in a cancer hospital

• Main Authors: P Ranganathan, P Khanapurkar, J V Divatia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2013-01-01
• Series: Journal of Postgraduate Medicine
• Subjects: Medical audit; operating room; utilization review
• Online Access: http://www.jpgmonline.com/article.asp?issn=0022-3859;year=2013;volume=59;issue=4;spage=281;epage=283;aulast=Ranganathan
• ISSN: 0022-3859; 0972-2823

Background: Appropriate usage of operating room (OR) time can improve efficiency of utilization of resources and help to decrease surgical waiting lists. Aims: This study was conducted to evaluate the pattern of usage of OR time in a tertiary referral cancer hospital. Setting and Design: This was a prospective audit carried out over 2 months in 11 major ORs in a cancer hospital. Materials and Methods: OR anesthesiologists filled a standard form for all patients undergoing elective surgery and documented the following times: entry into OR, start of anesthesia, handover to surgeon, incision, start of reversal, end of anesthesia, and shifting out of patient. Statistical Analysis: Median time utilized for various OR processes was calculated. Results: An average of two surgeries were performed per OR session (828 surgeries in 407 OR sessions). Anesthesia and surgery-related processes contributed to 17% and 79%, respectively, of total OR time, with turnover time between cases accounting for the remaining 4%. Fifteen percent (60 out of 407) OR sessions started more than 10 min later than the planned start time, and 17% (70 of 407) of OR sessions ended more than 2 h after the scheduled finish time. An anesthesia procedure room was utilized in only 15% of cases where it could potentially have been used. Conclusion: This audit identified patterns of OR usage in a cancer hospital and helped to detect areas of inefficient utilization. Anesthesia-related processes contributed to 17% of the total OR time.