Dedicated teams to improve operative room efficiency

PurposeThe goal of this study was to determine if a dedicated operative room (OR) team would improve OR efficiency.MethodsA pilot program was initiated at an endocrine surgery service at a tertiary medical center to improve operative room efficiency as part of a comprehensive unit-based safety protocol (CUSP). The service already underwent standardization of pre-operative workup, OR equipment, operative technique, and anesthesia protocol. As a pilot, one surgeon had a dedicated OR team consisting of regular scrub and circulating nurse oriented specifically for endocrine surgeries. The pre - and post- CUSP times were compared to the other surgeons on the service. OR time, turnover time, and first start times were measured.ResultsA total of 25 cases were performed with the new nursing team as compared to the 85 done historically. The overall OR time was decreased form 125.51 minutes to 112.1 minute (p 0.05), whereas the control group did not have any statistical difference during this time, 172.2 minutes compared to 171.3 minutes (p=0.9). Turnover with the team was improved by 9.0% at 26.4 minutes from 29.0 minutes and first start OR times improved to 7:20 AM from 7:22 AM, however neither of these changes reached statistical significance (p>0.05).ConclusionThis pilot program indicates that a dedicated team in the operative room can reduce operative time. We attributed this to reduction in delays and distractions as well as increased experience with the flow of the operation. We feel this improves patient safety while reducing operative costs.