To fix that, we installed booms and purchased new capital equip-
ment, including high-tech 2D and 3D endoscopic video systems and
58-inch monitors. We also made minor cosmetic changes, like a fresh
paint job. Each room took 3 weeks to renovate and inspect.
The new equipment is great, but it's the interconnectivity of the sys-
tems that makes our ORs special. We are 100% integrated. All of the
equipment and devices in the rooms — from the lights to the laparo-
scopes — are connected via a single software platform, letting a nurse
or surgeon control everything with a single, small flat-screen device.
Instead of the circulator getting up and turning on each piece of
equipment, she can now just push a button.
The system also saves surgeon preferences. So, if a doctor is coming
into the OR to do a knee arthroscopy, the circulator or the surgeon
can log into the system, click on the doc's name and hit "knee
arthroscopy." All of the equipment, including the shavers and burrs,
will then turn to the settings he typically prefers. This really helps
staff prep cases more efficiently.
One of the biggest benefits of integration is our improved patient
and staff safety. Take, for example, the integrated suites' voice confir-
mation system. Let's say a surgeon tells the circulator to turn the elec-
trocautery device up to 30%, but she mishears him and turns it to 40%.
Before the temperature increases, the voice confirmation system will
say, "The Bovie has been turned up to 40%," giving staff time to react
and change it to the correct setting. In the integrated ORs, anytime we
change the strength of intensity of something, you get that confirma-
tion.
The interconnectivity also extends to our other departments and
even to areas outside of the facility. The rooms' video conferenc-
ing lets surgeons telecast a procedure to a conference or a class-
room, or phone-in another physician for a second opinion. This
1 3 4
O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5
