A P R I L 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 7 7
T
here's nothing more frustrating than watching the
(very expensive) minutes tick by in empty ORs when
cases have to be called off at the eleventh hour.
Officials at Cincinnati (Ohio) Children's Hospital
Medical Center know the feeling. In 2011, they were
losing about 5.5 hours of revenue-producing OR time a day due to
last-minute cancellations. The 3 main culprits: patients got sick;
patients simply wouldn't show or would go to the wrong campus;
or patients weren't going NPO before surgery.
Patients and their families typically received phone calls from a
nurse 2 days before scheduled procedures, during which the
nurse would review pre-op care instructions, remind patients of
their arrival time and provide directions to the hospital. It was
Promote Perfect Attendance
Text message reminders and online patient
registration portals can put an end to canceled cases.
Mike Morsch | Associate Editor
• MOBILE DATA Patients who receive updates and
information about scheduled procedures on their cell
phones are more likely to show up on the day of surgery.
