Description
The operating room is at the same time a major cost center and revenue driver for most hospitals. While often perceived as a well-oiled machine, the OR is frequently impacted by numerous obstacles that impede process flow and lead to inefficiencies. This includes inventory management and process variability.
Mismanagement of these aspects results in case delays that compromise two important facets of the CQO paradigm: 1) increased costs associated with staffing and non-productive turnover times, and 2) the perception of suboptimal quality of care as perceived by patients and their families impacted by delayed start times.
In contrast, successful inventory management yields decreases in patient complications, supply waste, and case delays. Reducing process variability increases performance efficiencies and maximizes OR time. Accurate physician preference cards in OR processes can make for more efficient use of time and improve utilization-driven inventory management, reduce clinical variation, while also serving as a means to assess the profitability of any given case.
Resiliency in the operating room is imperative in today’s healthcare climate. A well-functioning OR has the potential to increase the number of patients served and further enhance its contribution to the hospital's bottom line. This presentation will discuss how supply chain process improvements can help achieve CQO in the OR.
Learning Objectives:
•Establish a means for updating and maintaining physician preference cards.
•Recognize your inventory management pain points and overcome those challenges for a more efficient OR workflow.
•Identify tactics for managing change and optimizing efficiency that reduce perioperative variability.
Presenters:
Dr. Kristin Boehm, Nexera, Inc.
Kenneth Scher, Nexera, Inc.
Pat Kelley, South Nassau Communities Hospital