Abstract
Purpose :
To compare average turnover times for eye cases in an academic ophthalmology department before and after implementation of standardized operating room workflow efficiency measures.
Methods :
Two consecutive 5 month intervals were evaluated in the ophthalmology department at a metropolitan academic medical center, before and after the opening of a new operating facility with introduction of standardized workflow efficiency measures. The workflow efficiency improvements included: 1) single-patient pre- and post-operative holding room addressing potential recovery room delays; 2) physician assistants complete pre- and post-operative orders enabling surgeons to meet with patients and families addressing potential patient delays; 3) operating room nurses do not leave the room between cases addressing potential operating room delays; 4) standardized trays were created for each subspecialty service eliminating potential central processing/equipment delays. The primary outcome measure was operating room turnover time for ophthalmology cases. Secondary measure was change in case volume projections for academic year 2018-2019 as compared to case volume for academic year 2017-2018. Student’s t-test was used for statistical analysis.
Results :
During the 5 month interval preceding the implementation of the workflow efficiency measures mean turnover time between ophthalmology cases was 21.2 minutes (SD 2.3 minutes). During the 5 month interval following implementation turnover times improved to 11.5 minutes (SD 1.4 minutes). This represented a 46% reduction in turnover time. Ophthalmology surgical case volume for academic year 2017-2018 was 978 cases. Projected ophthalmology surgical case volume for academic year 2018-2019 is 1440, representing a 32% increase in projected case volume.
Conclusions :
Standardized workflow efficiency measures implemented in an academic ophthalmology center may contribute to decreased average turnover times between cases. This may improve overall operating room efficiency and enable the completion of more cases per day and increased departmental surgical volume. Future studies should be completed to address patient and physician satisfaction in this realm.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.