SURGICAL/CRITICAL CARE


from the operating room, and automates post-operative workflow to securely store and share surgical case data.


Loaner tray readiness


“In spite of the best staff dedication, a key fac- tor in room turnover is case readiness,” said Rechin. “Specific to loaner sets, sterile pro- cessing departments are often at the mercy of when inventory gets delivered for a case. If as an example, a vendor delivers 20 trays the evening before a case, that adds enormous pressure and complexity to the sterile pro- cessing team, and typically leads to surgical case delays, and poor room turnover.” “Utilizing a loaner tray solution such as ReadySet Surgical would eliminate that pres- sure by providing the SPD better visibility into inventory arrival, as well as eliminat- ing all the last-minute run around in trying to see when inventory will arrive,” Rechin continued. “The solution helps increase case readiness; including when inventory will be delivered, what inventory will be delivered, and even providing tracking information to see carrier status. These types of efficiency improvements allow staff to increase pro- ductivity and can positively impact staff availability to assist in room turnover.”


A look ahead


“Hospital and health system leaders are preparing to navigate what could be an


exceptionally turbulent 2023,” said Tina Wheeler, Health Care sector leader, Deloitte, commenting on the results of Deloitte’s Health Care Industry 2023 Outlook survey. She notes how “many patients continue to put off non-emergency procedures, which continues to squeeze revenue” and how “an increasing number of patients are shifting to ambulatory centers over hospitals for surgical procedures.” Pressured by staff shortages, inflation, shrinking margins, and increased competi- tion from ambulatory surgery centers (ASC), hospital leaders are looking for ways to get back in the black. Improvements in OR effi- ciency can help refuel the engine driving hospital revenues, while alleviating periop- erative teams of non-value-added tasks. As Wheeler stated in her blog post on the 2023 Outlook survey findings: “Hospital and health system leaders might also look for ways digital technology could take over some administrative and menial tasks so that clinical staff can spend more time interacting directly with patients. This could help relieve stress and improve care delivery and staffing models. Many employees are demanding more flexibility in how they work.” In the conclusion of her post, Wheeler summed up her thoughts on this new year, emphasizing the importance of patient satisfaction:


Digitizing surgery, play-by-play


Processes in and around healthcare delivery are becoming increasingly digital, replacing inefficient, labor-intensive manual tasks. Electronic health records (EHR), virtual health platforms, and automated supply management solutions are just some of the digital technologies used by healthcare provider organizations today. A recent survey of 50+ digital health venture capital investors con-


ducted by GSR Ventures, shows expansion of digital technology invest- ments in 2023 will be driven by challenges facing providers today, with nearly half of those surveyed (48%) citing provider shortages/ burnout as the challenge presenting the greatest opportunity for digital health solutions.1 David L. Joyce, MD, MBA, Cardiovascular Surgeon, Medical College of


Wisconsin, comments on how the digital procedural playbook by Explorer, a GHX Company, delivers meaningful data on procedural workflows that surgical teams can use to increase efficiency and decrease operating room (OR) turnover times (TOT). “Despite employing 11% of the American workforce,2


the health care


sector faces disabling personnel shortages with limited options for rapid recovery. If one considers the operating room of the cardiac sur- geon as a case study, improvements in efficiency serve as the only practical solution to the challenges at hand. Nowhere is this oppor- tunity more pronounced than in the execution of surgical suite turn- over. The complexity and duration of open-heart procedures means that the ability to develop a high performing surgical team carries with it the potential for as much as a doubling in overall productivity. “Despite the significant unrealized potential, very few programs are successful in achieving this kind of capacity for growth. In the famous words of Peter Drucker, ‘you can’t manage what you don’t measure.’3


Even


with the invasion of electronic medical records into the operating theater and their associated demands on the circulating nurse staff, meaningful data remains elusive. “This long-standing problem may very well be on the


verge of a solution in 2023 as disruptive new technol- ogies emerge to address the challenges of operating room efficiency. In the case of Explorer Surgical, a procedural playbook has been shown to identify bottlenecks in the procedural workflow.4


David L. Joyce This


approach utilizes a set of detailed, step-by-step procedural instructions to provide clinical teams with a comprehensive guide to new techniques. “The benefits of moving from analog to digital have already been seen in the retail industry, where barcodes have become indispensable in managing inventory. It is somewhat ironic that these types of opera- tional improvements have not become more commonplace in the actual operating room. Nevertheless, in the case of open-heart surgery where time equals myocardium, these competitive advantages may very well extend to clinical benefits for our patients.”


References:


1. GSR Ventures Survey: Digital Health Investors Believe ROI and Clinical Validation Will be the Greatest Markers of Success in 2023, GSR Ventures, December 1, 2022, https://www.prnewswire. com/news-releases/gsr-ventures-survey-digital-health-investors-believe-roi-and-clinical- validation-will-be-the-greatest-markers-of-success-in-2023-301691869.html


2. A dozen facts about the economics of the US health-care system, Brookings, March 10, 2020, https://www.brookings.edu/research/a-dozen-facts-about-the-economics-of-the-u- s-health-care-system/


3. Big Data: The Management Revolution, Harvard Business Review, October 2012, https://hbr. org/2012/10/big-data-the-management-revolution


4. Athanasiadis, D.I., Monfared, S., Whiteside, J. et al. What delays your case start? Exploring operating room inefficiencies. Surg Endosc 35, 2709–2714 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/ s00464-020-07701-6 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-020-07701-6


16 February 2023 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • hpnonline.com


“I believe 2023 is going to be another challenging year for hospitals and health systems as they work to balance financial pressures with the need to invest in the future while ensuring high-quality care. These organizations will likely need to do all they can to attract and maintain patients. Deloitte’s recent research shows that con- sumers are less likely to return for care after having a negative experience with a health care provider or staff. Ensuring that patients have a positive experience could help improve trust in hospitals and health systems.” HPN


References:


1. Riveros Perez E, Kerko R, Lever N, White A, Kahf S, Avella-Molano B. Operating room relay strategy for turn- over time improvement: a quality improvement project. BMJ Open Qual. 2022 Jul;11(3):e001957. doi: 10.1136/bm- joq-2022-001957. PMID: 35902182; PMCID: PMC9341176.


2. Sarpong K, Kamande S, Murray J, Wiley A, Bhatnagar A, Dowlati E, Nair MN. Consecutive Surgeon and Anesthesia Team Improve Turnover Time in the Operating Room. J Med Syst. 2022 Jan 28;46(3):16. doi: 10.1007/s10916-022-01802- 6. PMID: 35089430.


3. Amati M, Valnegri A, Bressan A, La Regina D, Tassone C, Lo Piccolo A, Mongelli F, Saporito A. Reducing Change- over Time Between Surgeries Through Lean Thinking: An Action Research Project. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Apr 27;9:822964. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.822964. PMID: 35573003; PMCID: PMC9091348.


4. 2023 Outlook for Health Care, Deloitte, December 13, 2022, https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/blog/health-care- blog/2022/2023-outlook-for-health-care-could-margins- staffing-stall-progress-to-future-of-health.html


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