A. J. Douglas2, B. Pankratz2, J. Fenne2, R. I. Shoff2, C. P. Heise2 2University Of Wisconsin,School Of Medicine And Public Health,Madison, WI, USA
Introduction: There is debate in the literature about the usefulness of improving operating room (OR) turnover time since translation into cost savings or increased revenue is inconsistent. However, turnover time is rated by staff as a significant source of inefficiency and dissatisfaction in the OR. Increasing OR staff satisfaction by decreasing turnover times may itself be valuable by improving employee retention and workplace atmosphere. Our objective is to examine the impact of quality improvement (QI) efforts aimed at decreasing time between surgeries on OR efficiency and staff satisfaction.
Methods: OR turnover efficiency improvements were implemented in inpatient surgery at an academic hospital. From 2012-2014, turnover times were tracked both before and after efficiency implementation and a staff satisfaction survey was distributed yearly to OR nurses, surgeons, and anesthesiologists. Statistical analysis of survey results included t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Results: Average turnover time decreased 5 minutes total, from 43 to 38 minutes (a 12% reduction in turnover time). Staff satisfaction with turnover times increased across all disciplines (p < 0.05), and overall mean increased from 1.94 ± 0.88 to 3.15 ± 1.35 (p < 0.001), with 1 = ‘poor’ and 5 = ‘outstanding.’ Satisfaction increased among nurses by 1.21 ± 0.22 (p < 0.001), surgeons by 1.22 ± 0.27 (p < 0.001), and anesthesiologists by 1.25 ± 0.41 (p = 0.005).
Conclusion: With LEAN improvement efforts we demonstrated moderate improvements in turnover times in the inpatient setting. Even modest reductions resulted in increased OR staff satisfaction with turnover. While time saved was unlikely to accommodate an extra surgical case, minimizing turnover time remains a sensible target for hospitals due to the positive effects on staff satisfaction.
