Program brings improvements in room turnover, punctuality and staffing consistency
FRIDAY, Nov. 14 (HealthDay News) -- A perioperative efficiency program can be successfully implemented to increase both patient and physician satisfaction, according to an article published in the November issue of the AORN Journal.
Kathryn Scheriff, R.N., of Stony Brook University Medical Center in Stony Brook, N.Y., and colleagues conducted a study of an operating room efficiency program that was implemented at the hospital in 2005. They assessed whether the program had achieved its aims of increasing efficiency and enhancing patient safety.
Within four months of implementation, the program resulted in an increase in on-time starts within 15 minutes for first procedures, and the accuracy of surgeons' preference cards, as well as a decrease in room turnover time, the investigators found. Staff consistency and multidisciplinary communication also improved, the researchers report. The improvements were sustained at the one-year mark, the authors note.
"The work is not done, and collaborative efforts will continue to make enhancements to the perioperative environment because the evolution of this project will improve staff and patient satisfaction, as well as the safety and quality of the care provided to surgical patients," the authors write.
Abstract
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