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B E N C H M A R K I N G
of surgical services and central sterile processing at Detroit Medical
Center's Harper University Hospital in Michigan. Late starts mean
patients are spending more time than they'd like at your facility,
which can drag down your patient satisfaction scores.
Tardy surgeons who
are repeat offenders at
Harper University
Hospital receive a letter
warning them that
they'll lose the ability to
board cases before
0700 for a month, says
Mr. Seator. If it continues, it moves to 2
months and then 3.
"Usually it only occurs
once where the surgeon is not allowed to board first cases before
they arrive routinely on time," he says.
It's a good idea to require your surgeon to be ready 10 to 15 minutes
before the scheduled start time — a 0720 in-room time for a 0730
case, for example. You'd bring the patient back to the OR at 0715 for
induction as the team continues to set up the room.
While surgeons are often to blame for late starts, it's not always
their fault. Anesthesia (did you start the block an hour beforehand?),
the OR staff (slow turnover time) and central sterile processing
(where's that big piece of equipment?) could also cause delays.
"Surgeons have reported that the reason they may be late is because
the OR is never ready for them," says Mr. Seator. "In a time when surgical volume is king, late-starting cases are a big surgeon dissatisfier.
Physicians will see this as a potential reason to move their cases else-
"Just like breakfast is
the most important meal
of the day, on-time starts
are the most important
benchmark for how your
whole day will go,"
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O U T PAT 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 2013
