Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers

OR Excellence 2019 Awards - Outpatient Surgery Magazine - September 2019

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 T wo words that strike fear in the heart of every OR manager: open time. That, of course, is when your ORs sit silent and empty while it's stand- ing-room only in the staff lounge. More often than not, open time stems from ineffi- cient scheduling. Here's how to correct that. Collect the data. You'll want to use data to schedule more effec- tively, but you can only do that when your staff fully uses your facility's software. Your case history modules should tell you every- thing you need to know about each case: from time in/out of the room to anesthesia start/stop time to time of incision. These reports should point you to the weak links in your scheduling. Train your staff to input the data. Set a block-time threshold. Block time is a privilege, not a right. If your physicians aren't using the blocks you've given them, you're going to have empty ORs and idle staff. A good rule of thumb: If you're turning doctors away because you can't fit them on your sched- 1 2 Beating the Block Time Blues 4 tips to create a culture of efficient, lean scheduling. Staffing Ann Geier, MS, RN, CNOR, CASC • RUNNING IDLE Better scheduling can reduce open time at your facility. Pamela Bevelhymer, RN, BSN, CNOR

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