Operating rooms (ORs) present a significant financial challenge for hospitals. Minor gaps in standardization, scheduling inefficiencies, or a lack of trust in Electronic Medical Records (EMR) data can quickly escalate and ripple system-wide, affecting utilization, creating staffing confusion, and ultimately impacting an organization’s bottom line. Dr. Chad Mathis, CMO at UofL Health-Louisville, discussed with Healthcare Innovation how the health system implemented system-wide OR standardization, centralized scheduling, and a single data source to drive higher value across 59 operating rooms.
System-Wide Improvements
The team saw a 4 percent increase in year-over-year (YoY) case volume growth, which translates to more than 400 additional cases. This increase was accompanied by a 3 percent rise in primetime utilization, indicating more efficient use of available resources. With more efficient blocks/releases, the system recaptured 517,875 minutes and saved $1.5M in monthly anesthesia costs.
Driving Change: Trust and Standardization
Mathis explained that the implementation of the changes was prompted by inconsistencies across scheduling mechanisms and the need for a centralized system. “The biggest thing,” he says, “was we really weren’t trusting our data as it came out of our EMR, because there were inconsistent ways that we were measuring things at each location.” UofL Health partnered with LeanTaaS to standardize its ORs using the iQueue system and centralized its OR scheduling team. The team worked with its IT partners and LeanTaaS to create a standardized booking form.
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A steering committee of representatives from across the organization was formed to define parameters such as prime-time utilization, turnover time, and more. Mathis says real improvements were observed in volume and turnover times. Anesthesia locums were reduced, and block utilization was maximized.
Doctors initially expressed concerns about the new system due to their protective nature towards block time. However, these concerns were addressed by maintaining transparency and engaging all stakeholders, including surgeons, IT staff, and vendors. Strong executive sponsorship, including the continued involvement of UofL Health’s CEO, Dr. Smith, was key to the success of the project.
Looking ahead, UofL Health continues to refine its approach by regularly reviewing utilization data and adjusting blocks as needed. The steering committee remains active, ensuring that the health system continues to make informed decisions and maintain the gains achieved through its OR transformation.
