One of the most challenging areas to support in our hospitals is the procedure areas. Whether they be the OR rooms, the cath lab rooms or the interventional radiology rooms, these rooms contain not only a high volume of equipment but also some of the most complex equipment in our medical centers. Not only does this equipment require a high level of support, but it is also some of the most expensive equipment as well. The reason for this is because of the delicate procedures that are happening in these rooms and the invasive nature of what is being done. Managing such a high demand area requires a special approach to not only ensure positive patient outcomes but also to stay within the business expectations of the medical center. Our team of clinical engineers and biomedical technicians play a vital role in ensuring these outcomes.

Of the many priorities we manage, the highest priority is patient safety. There must be a delicate balance between the various teams that interact with each other before, during and after each case. There is a beautiful relationship within these departments where everyone knows what to do and when, ensuring that the intervention proceeds without any issues. Communication is key. Some of the tools we use to communicate beyond our phones are cameras to check in on rooms and the progress of the case in that room. Other teams can also use the camera as they may be on the ready should a case be nearing its end and may need a turn-over very soon. 

Working with OR Leadership and brainstorming about how to best support the technology within these special areas is crucial to having an effective and efficient program.

Leadership plays an important role in setting the expectations for when and how things should happen as patients are being brought in, taken care of, and brought out. This includes careful planning of the types of cases that are to be performed at the facility and the equipment that will be needed for those cases. There must be thoughtful planning for the capital equipment, instruments, training and workflows that will ensure the best outcomes. Clinical engineering can assist in all phases of these plans to ensure the right technology is sourced, evaluated for compatibility in the institution and has the proper support once the device is acquired.

One of the biggest ‘gotchas’, especially in the OR space, is not considering the total cost of ownership of these costly devices such as navigation, robotics, and intra-operative imaging including the very highly specialized accessories that come with these devices, such as the flexible scopes for endoscopy cases. Facilities should be proactive in looking beyond the first year of warranty and determine how much will be the cost to keep that device working properly, what will be required to repair it in case of a breakdown and what will be the cost of any extended warranties.

To stay abreast of the latest and greatest technology, a hospital should have a capital equipment life cycle planning that may look at least a few years into the future to predict what equipment will be coming to the end of life and may require replacement. If done properly, this will avoid unwarranted failures and ensure the hospital is always current with its medical equipment.

At our facility, we have weekly tag-up meetings with our OR leadership to discuss hot topics regarding equipment maintenance and review medical equipment service agreements that are due to expire in the next quarter. This allows time to request renewal quotes, review them, make any adjustments and process them before the end of the term. Having continuity in service ensures that equipment is always working properly and available for use.

Some of our most pressing challenges regarding medical equipment include tracking the mean time between failures. If this number is too low, then this may be pointing to a larger issue. We had an example where we discovered high breakage volumes of scopes due to improper techniques by clinical users. At this point, we instituted user training to help the clinician not break the equipment. At other times, it was discovered that the breakages were happening as the equipment was being processed for cleaning and disinfection. This proved to be an opportunity to train the sterile processing teams on better handling techniques. Knowing how your equipment is failing is key to having high reliability and equipment that is ready to be used at any given time.

Another of our secret weapons to help support the technology in this very delicate space is the collaboration with other technical teams. Our clinical engineering team is already in scrubs working in the OR space, but if the need is for a different team to be present, this may cause delays in service due to long arrival times. A creative solution is to empower those technical folks that are already in the OR spaces with a little information so they may be effective in solving simple but high-volume calls. Allowing our team to be flexible in responding to minor calls that may fall outside of their normal workflow will empower them to increase uptime, improve customer satisfaction and reduce service delays. 

Working with OR Leadership and brainstorming about how to best support the technology within these special areas is crucial to having an effective and efficient program. Having positive relationships with the various levels of staff also helps improve communications so that information can be delivered promptly and accurately. There are many nuances to supporting the procedure spaces, but when done properly, everyone feels supported and work becomes just another day in the ORs.

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We hear about digital health everywhere, from remote patient monitoring (RPM) to telehealth and everything in between. With promises to have technology improve overall outcomes throughout the healthcare system, where does surgery come into play? Digital surgery is a somewhat new term, defined for the first time by researchers in 2022, and our understanding of it and how it can help improve hospital surgery outcomes is still evolving. In an age where AI is growing rapidly and taking over many industries, the question remains of what digital surgery is and how can we trust and implement it going forward.

Digital health innovations can be used at various stages throughout the surgery process, such as preoperative planning, post-surgical analysis, and even AI-driven training. Although much is unknown about digital surgery, some impressive results have been evident from the plethora of new technological advancements. For example, using Johnson and Johnson’s MONARCH robotics platform in bronchoscopy, doctors had a 15% improvement in diagnostic yield. Surgical Process Institute, a digital system that can be integrated with any surgical theater to show visualizations of a procedure’s key steps, has been shown to reduce unwarranted variability by up to 45% and reduce surgical time. Augmented reality (AR) glasses used during surgery reduced the muscular fatigue of surgeons’ bodies and improved the accuracy of surgical instrument placement by 35%.

Investing in infrastructure improvements is necessary not only to enable digital surgery and other digital health initiatives, but to reduce cost and waste throughout the hospital system.

What are some of the potential benefits of digital surgery? Access to quality health care in rural America continues to be a concern. With technology such as a robotic platform allowing a surgeon in one location to provide surgery to a patient in another, digital surgery could potentially help close gaps in the rural healthcare system. Robotic surgery benefits both patients and providers alike. Patients can enjoy a faster recovery time and less pain, whereas surgeons can enjoy enhanced dexterity and greater precision. Machine learning (ML) in surgery can help better analyze data and predict outcomes such as surgical site incisions with increased precision. AI and ML can also help hospitals better analyze and learn from large sets of data to better predict outcomes and trends. New technologies can attract new patients as they show the hospital is at the forefront of design and innovation. We have already seen how much technology can be used to bolster in-person health care during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many surgical consults moved online. It is not hard to imagine how much more technology can move us forward in the movement to increase patient access and care.

These advances do not come without risks as well as legal and ethical concerns. No hospital is without concerns about cyber security, and digital surgery is no exception. Many tools such as surgical robots, require connectivity in order to work. In the world of ever-increasing cyber-attacks, the technology used in the operating room (OR) could put patients at increased risk for a targeted cyber-attack. Hospital staff may hesitate to use new technologies, as they fear losing their job to automation. The high costs of these solutions can further health disparities amongst hospitals, as public funded hospitals may not be able to afford the same solutions as better-funded, private ones. In addition, little research has been done on ethical concerns regarding digital surgery.

Overall, it seems that digital surgery is here to stay like other technological advancements. What can you do in your hospital to ensure that these technologies are successful and that you address any concerns? First, it is vital for more research to be put into this area, as it is important to understand the ethical impact on digital surgery and digital health as a whole as we continue to adapt to an increasingly digital age. Hospitals can create a digital health governance team to determine which technology will work best for their hospital and thoroughly evaluate all risks and benefits. When rolling out new surgical technology, less can be more. Hospitals should focus on where they can have the most impact and not try to make too many changes simultaneously to overwhelm an already stretched workforce. As hospitals begin to see the benefits of the surgical technology they have started to use, their concerns around automation and using new technology may be eased. Hospitals can also invest in cybersecurity to ensure minimal risks of cyberattacks. Many hospitals tend to be behind in terms of readiness for digital advances by having outdated data infrastructure. Investing in infrastructure improvements is necessary not only to enable digital surgery and other digital health initiatives, but to reduce cost and waste throughout the hospital system. Hospitals should lean into the unknown as well. While there are many clear benefits to digital surgery, there is still a need for more research and much of that can be learned. Hospital systems can set themselves up to be leaders in innovation in this area by continuing to find new ways to both use and measure the success of digital surgery tools and in developing new research. Providers can adopt new ways to talk about AI and other digital surgery tools with their patients to help ease any concerns. It is exciting to think about what the future holds for digital surgery and healthcare innovation as a whole- we are just beginning!

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The opportunities for integrating technology into the surgical space are leading the way toward better efficiency, quality, and patient care. Innovations are the machine that drives organizations toward value and decreased waste. Minimally invasive surgery has advanced from laparoscopic interventions to even better modalities that decrease pain, hospital length of stay, and efficiency. Robotic-assisted surgery is one of the most significant advancements over the past several years. I was fortunate to be exposed to the first Davinci surgical robot system in the early 2000s while working for a hospital in Rochester, New York. It was difficult to make decisions about the best use for the robot- it was the early adoption and learning curve. Ultimately, the Davinci found its place in urology. Later in my career, while working at the Washington D.C., I saw this become the standard of care for prostate surgery. In 2014, I worked with senior leadership at a large hospital system to upgrade the entire fleet of 9 robots to the current Xi model. Robotic surgery not only can improve surgeon precision, but it also has very favorable outcomes for patients – less blood loss, pain and recovery time.

One of the most exciting advances in robotic surgery is in the cardiac surgery space. Today, we are able to do mitral valve surgery using the Davinci robot and continue to explore in other disciplines. The most recent technology from Intuitive is the Davinci single port robot that allows for a single incision and a far less invasive surgery. I am currently exploring the use of this innovative surgical approach with one of our world-renowned robotic surgeons who want to use it in prostate surgery.

Another fascinating technological innovation we have employed at a San Diego hospital is Aquablation. Developed in 2015, Aquablation is fundinding it way into operating rooms around the country, and we are one of 20 training sites in the United States. It uses a heat-free water jet controlled by robotic technology combined with a cystoscope to remove prostate tissue. The ultrasound imaging gives the surgeon the opportunity to visualize the entire prostate while the surgery is underway. Aquablation therapy is characterized by precision and reliable predictability. Another unique characteristic is that this device can manage any size prostate.

There will always be a human component to surgical services that supports innovation and creative thinking.

Our patients tell us they are very pleased with the Aquablation procedure. They indicate minimal pain and great overall outcomes. What is unique about this device is that it has two phases. The first phase is the mapping to understand the size and shape of the prostate. That allows for greater precision in identifying abnormalities in the prostate. The second phase involves engaging a robotic, heat-free water jet that removes the prostate tissue. The combination produces a favorable outcome and has become the treatment of choice for Benign Prostate Hypertrophy (BPH).

Still, another exciting technology we currently use in our operating rooms is the robotic-assisted arm for total joint surgeries. We use the CORI robotic-assisted Arthroplasty system. The CORI system supports surgeons by better mapping of the knee without CT or MRI. It is also helpful in identifying proper implants, providing intraoperative visualization for maintaining healthy joint lines and identifying areas for bone removal. This robot provides the surgeon and the patient with a personalized approach to care delivery. We use CORI most often in our total joint revisions.

Finally, no article on technology in surgery would be complete without discussing the integration of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) into the operating room. EMR has changed everything about the way we do business – from scheduling all the way to discharge. I have been a surgery leader for over 20 years and have worked with several systems. What has always been a challenge for both the vendors and leaders is successfully designing systems that capture data and then transferring it into valuable business intelligence platforms that assist leaders in decision-making and business analytics. It has improved remarkably, but there are still opportunities to grow and improve in this space.

One thing we are currently doing in our operating rooms at my current hospital is changing the way we do charge capture and preference card management. Instead of using a “charge by exception” model to capture supply costs in the operating room, we are moving to a 100% capture by scanners. This change has a projected savings of $300,000 for the system. It does require strong and effective leadership and careful process design, but it is well worth the effort. We also instituted a process where changes in preference cards were made at the point of service. This has improved the quality of the cards and cases are better prepared.

The future of technology in the operating room is bright and exciting. I think we will soon (if not already) be printing custom 3D implants in the operating room that are customized to individual patient needs. It appears that AI may provide opportunities to improve scheduling, operating room efficiency, and predictive analysis for post-operative complications. I have not yet participated in the space, but I am excited to do so. Finally, I want to recognize the most important technological components in all areas of surgical services. These are the surgeons, nurses, surgical technicians, and other support staff who come to work every day and assist in using these innovative technologies. I am proud of my role in surgical services and as a provider of the teams I serve. There will always be a human component to surgical services that supports innovation and creative thinking.

The post Technologies Transforming the Surgical Experience appeared first on HealthTech Magazines.

The surgical environment is a beautiful collage of talented human hands, rigorous clinical processes, delicate tools, sophisticated medical devices, and technology that push and pull critical information to a wide variety of places with countless integrations. Where does “traditional IT” start and stop in this incredibly complex environment? The answer is traditional IT is fluid throughout the surgical environment.

I have been envisioning, planning, and designing technology for hospitals with a specialty in perioperative spaces for over 30 years. I currently serve as IT Director, Eastern Region at Inova, a health system in Northern Virginia. I am planning the technology infrastructure for near-term renovations and two new state-of-the-art campuses opening in early 2028. These projects include General and Hybrid ORs, Interventional labs, Cath labs, and EP labs. This article will help you navigate through the design, planning and implementation of a complex environment. Stepping out of the traditional IT role, one must immerse themselves into the perioperative world, bridging the gap between clinical processes, biomed systems, IT systems, and infrastructure.

Becoming Fluent

Experts say that the best way to learn a foreign language is to immerse yourself in the environment, culture, and community to fully understand not only the language, but also the nuances of the language.  The approach to understanding perioperative spaces is very similar. The key to understanding the needs of the perioperative environment is to spend time in the OR, observe various case types, and interview people in different roles to better understand their unique technology needs.

Stepping out of the traditional IT role, one must immerse themselves into the perioperative world, bridging the gap between clinical processes, biomed systems, IT systems, and infrastructure.

Pebbles in Your Shoes

The current OR environment is riddled with technological challenges, many of which are a result of missing design elements, incompatible products, and equipment added as an afterthought. Common challenges and themes include:

• Poor cable management: Often, this is the result of not fully understanding all the equipment required for a surgical case, where it will be located (cart or boom), and how that equipment is connected to infrastructure (data and video) and the patient. Poor cable management results in tripping hazards, broken cables, and unexpected disconnects during a procedure.
  
  
• Poor visualization of video images and data: This is a result of not understanding where certain surgical team members work in the room and the ability of visualizing key points of the procedure.
  
  
• Intraoperative issues and Inefficient workflows: Disparate systems and equipment that do not easily share data.

Space Planning & Design

In order to address the issues above, one must understand that healthcare IT is constantly evolving and the traditional lines of delineation between medical equipment and IT systems are virtually non-existent. The days of medical equipment connecting to and communicating over isolated or dedicated networks are gone. Planning for a ubiquitous medical-grade infrastructure while ensuring the foundational requirements, including cyber security, redundancy, business continuity, and performance is critical.

• Space Planning: Traditionally, IT conversations occur after architects have designed the room. To effectively plan ORs for current and future technology needs, technology must be included at the very beginning with a multi-disciplinary approach. This would include clinical teams (surgeon, nursing, anesthesia, surgical techs), architects, MEP-IT engineers, IT, and clinical (biomed) engineering). Technology elements that impact room design include:
  
  
  • Wall monitor placement (based on sightlines)
  • Equipment/anesthesia boom placement (impacts workflow, connectivity)
  • Identification of what equipment resides on the equipment boom and what equipment is brought into the field (impacts connectivity)
  • In-field monitor booms quantity and size (impacts ceiling congestion and sightlines)
  • PC placement for physician, anesthesiologist, and circulator (impacts workstation mounting and connectivity)
  • Surgical robot consoles (space and connectivity impact)
  • Immovable equipment such as OR video integration rack (hard to find locations for room-specific fixed equipment)
  • Control room layout, number of seats, equipment placement (screens and CPUs)

The best way to visualize and discover the pros and cons of device placement is to create a full-scale mock-up of the OR. 3D modeling software and Virtual Reality are extremely helpful and can save a tremendous amount of time, but if a full-scale temporary mock-up is an option, it would be the preference.

• Pathways and Connectivity: Once the equipment has been located, cable pathways should be identified. In the OR, cabling transcends traditional structured cabling topology (data wall plate) wired to the “data closet”, as many system cable routes are point-to-point. The challenge is that these point-to-point requirements are typically not “designed” by anyone on the design team. Larger fixed imaging equipment vendors will provide site-specific drawings, but the smaller fixed systems, often found in EP, Cath, Hybrid, and IR rooms, will not provide site-specific designs. The cable and conduit requirements for these systems are typically found in the back of an installation guide (in the form of single-line diagrams) and must be interpreted for each specific room layout. This task is typically missed on most projects and only discovered during the equipment installation, resulting in the costly addition of point-to-point conduit and cabling in a room that is finished from a construction perspective.  
  
  
• Data Sharing: A significant challenge in the healthcare IT is the lack of native interoperability and data sharing from system to system. Something as simple as loading patient and case information into the various systems in the OR may require multiple steps and/or manual entry. A key requirement for the planning and design of these spaces is outlining the data workflow from preparing a case, pulling reference images, documenting a case, saving case images, and any post-case review/image processing.  
  
  

The role of IT and the participation of IT in the planning and design of a procedural space in the perioperative world requires us to get out of our comfort zone, becoming fluent in both the clinical and technical aspects of these wonderfully complex spaces as well as learning the design and appropriate application of medical devices and systems that we traditionally do not encounter.

The post “Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone” – IT’s Role in Surgical Technology appeared first on HealthTech Magazines.

To create a sustainable healthcare system of the future, healthcare providers are turning to vendor partners who can offer integrated tech solutions in the OR, aggregating huge amounts of data from different sources and modalities to provide insight. Data analysis, decision support, patient pathway planning, and OR workflow are key areas of interest, with outputs aimed to make surgeries safer and smarter. Caresyntax has created a new category of technology to address this challenge. The Caresyntax Data-Driven Surgery Platform enables health systems, payor partners, and industry innovators to aggregate and distill data from the massive surgical ecosystem, leverage data for insights, and innovate in ways to create a sustainable and resilient health system of the future.

The Caresyntax vendor neutral, enterprise-grade surgical technology platform delivers actionable insights through AI-powered software, devices, and clinical services, analyzing large volumes of clinical, operational, and financial data to improve patient outcomes and operational efficiency.

Clinical Benefits: Leveraging Technology for Optimal Surgical Workflow Efficiency at Every Step

Caresyntax is revolutionizing the surgical space by harnessing the power of data to drive excellence in every phase of the surgical journey. From preoperative planning to postoperative analysis, the vendor-neutral platform captures and returns useful information through the entire surgical process from all modalities: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), inventory & supply chain systems, financial records, and high-definition surgical footage. Assembling this data into a High-Fidelity Surgical Record, the platform utilizes Intel® Edge computing technology to return useful outputs to improve patient safety and improving clinical outcomes. Whether through industry-leading and clinically validated procedural assessments and surgical guides, or through real time AI-driven patient risk models, Caresyntax is focused on redefining surgical quality through continuous education, development, and improvement. And, with available telepresence add-on capability, Caresyntax can create a surgical education environment where surgeons can learn advanced techniques directly from the experts in their fields, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement in surgical practices across geographic and socioeconomic barriers.

Safeguarding Data Collected for Enhancing Surgical Quality and Safety

Caresyntax, a recognized Patient Safety Organization (PSO) for Surgery, prioritizes the protection of surgical data collected across the care continuum. With robust anonymization and privacy controls, Caresyntax ensures the confidentiality of data used in surgical variation reduction, error reduction, and quality improvement programs.

Caresyntax’s commitment to data protection empowers healthcare providers to confidently pursue quality improvement initiatives, knowing their efforts and the generated data are safeguarded. Thus, Caresyntax is transforming healthcare from a culture of “blame and shame” to one of constant improvement and forward momentum.

Operational Improvements: Enhancing Operational Efficiency with Data-Driven Insights

The Caresyntax platform transforms perioperative efficiency by utilizing surgical data for real-time decision-making and remote collaboration. It enriches post-surgery analysis, enabling continuous improvement in surgical practices and resource management. This approach not only supports healthcare providers but also aids medical device manufacturers and insurers by offering insights derived from comprehensive risk assessments.

With the introduction of dynamic surgical scheduling solutions, Caresyntax is further optimizing operating room allocations, reducing scheduling conflicts, and improving patient flow.

Key features include:

• Empowerment of leaders with actionable insights for scheduling optimization, operational throughput, and cost efficiency.
• Data-driven optimization of OR team composition for enhanced procedure outcomes.

With Caresyntax’s data-driven insights, hospitals have experienced substantial improvements, such as:

• 39% increase in operation room scheduling block utilization
• 25% increase in billable minutes
• 40% decrease in after-hours cases

Maximizing Financial Outcomes: Expanding Surgical Services for Increased Volume, Reimbursement, and Profitability

Caresyntax significantly boosts financial performance in healthcare by leveraging surgical data to enhance growth, increase patient volume, improve reimbursements, and boost profitability. The Caresyntax platform offers a comprehensive suite of tools for hospitals and surgery centers, blending unstructured and structured data from various sources to provide a holistic view of surgical care. This enables proactive risk management and better negotiations for value-based contracts. Through advanced financial analytics and customizable tools, Caresyntax identifies cost-saving opportunities and supports service line expansion and marketing with real-world evidence. Additionally, it promotes the development of high-performing teams, facilitating the transition to value-based payment models and positioning organizations at the forefront of healthcare innovation.

Hospitals using Caresyntax have reported remarkable financial outcomes, including:

• Up to 1.5 more surgeries per day
• More than $300k additional revenue per OR
• More than $500 additional savings per OR case, based on better block time utilization.

AI-driven insights are transforming surgical care by enabling a personalized approach to patient treatment, enhancing safety, and care quality.

Pioneering Healthcare Innovation through with Insurers and Medtech Partners

The success of the Caresyntax platform is perhaps most well represented in its innovative partnership with Relyens, a European leader in insurance and risk management, to enhance surgical safety and efficiency through a category-defining Risk Management as a Service (RMaaS). RMaaS embodies a holistic approach to healthcare by combining risk management, Caresyntax technology, best practices, and insurance solutions, to improve patient safety and reduce costs and complications over the entire cycle of care.

And, with its newest offering, Clinical Data as a Service (CDaaS), Caresyntax now offers proven and scalable data collection and data science capabilities for industry partners to grow revenue, measure and improve value, and inform product development. CDaaS offers contextual data collection that is unmatched by current players, lower costs compared to traditional research organizations, and shortened timelines compared to in-house data collection teams.

About Caresyntax

Caresyntax is on a mission to make surgery safer and smarter by converging AI-powered software, devices, and clinical services to help customers improve surgical outcomes. Our vendor neutral, enterprise-grade surgical intelligence platform delivers actionable insights to improve patient outcomes by using proprietary software and artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze large volumes of video, audio, images, device data, clinical and operational data in and around the OR. This real-world evidence can be used by the care team live, during a procedure, and accessed by those outside the operating room via the platform’s dedicated telehealth link. After a procedure, the Caresyntax platform provides insights that help surgeons benchmark and improve their care, hospital administrators use surgical resources more efficiently, medical device companies advance better products, and insurance companies understand risk and devise more tailored policies. Headquartered in San Francisco in the US and internationally in Berlin, Caresyntax software is used in more than 3,000 operating rooms worldwide and supports surgical teams in more than three million procedures per year.

For more information on how Caresyntax can make surgery safer, smarter, and more profitable, visit www.caresyntax.com.

The post Caresyntax: The Future of Safer and Smarter Surgery appeared first on HealthTech Magazines.

The post-pandemic staffing crisis, combined with high healthcare costs, has intensified the focus on waste reduction. Waste significantly impacts patients, hospitals, and health systems. Leveraging technology is one way for surgery leaders and hospital administrators to reduce waste in the operating room (OR). There are three types of technologies that should be considered for maximizing efficiency in all hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).

Technology increases automated documentation

Any technology that decreases the amount of manual documentation required by the OR team will improve efficiency. One of the best systems is a radio-frequency identification (RFID) system. RFID is a technology that leverages tags to relay information to electronic readers. A tag is placed on a patient’s chart, which accompanies them throughout the operative journey. Tag readers are placed throughout the OR. As the patient/chart passes the tag readers, the patient’s journey becomes automatically timestamped. The time when a patient enters the OR and when a patient exits the OR are automatically captured and documented in the medical record. The timestamps are often manually entered into the medical record by the OR team, so the RFID system decreases the documentation and improves efficiency.

Years ago, RFID systems were not very accurate. However, advancements in this technology make it one of the top 3 types of technologies that hospitals should evaluate and consider in 2024.

Technology in the OR should be progressive. It should consider ways to maximize resources while maintaining excellent patient outcomes.

Technology enhances communication

Both team communication and patient/family communication are critical for high efficiency. Delays, or perceived delays, in the OR are often avoidable and dependent upon clear communication. Advancing technology in an OR to provide increased communication to patients, surgeons, and anesthesiologists will support efficiency and maximize satisfaction. Most hospitals and ASCs have patient trackers in the waiting room lobby. These HIPAA-compliant trackers are convenient and provide updates to family members on the patient journey. This is an example of a baseline technology platform. There have been enhancements to several of these platforms. One of these enhancements is a text message alert when case changes occur. For example, a recent technology being evaluated for Medical City Healthcare, a 20-hospital system in North Texas, sends a text message to the physician and anesthesiologist if the case will start sooner than scheduled or when there will be a delay. The text also notifies the team of any room changes. These push notifications via text message provide synergy and coordination, reducing waste. These push text notifications allow the team to plan their time proactively. It decreases unnecessary room set-up and tear down which wastes supplies. The notification also allows surgeons and anesthesiologists to prioritize their time versus sitting and waiting for a case or being late to a case that was bumped up.

Medical City Healthcare also has a patient/family texting feature integrated into our electronic infrastructure. This feature is available to opt-in during the registration process. Patients and families who decide to opt-in receive text message notifications throughout the surgical journey.

Technology leverages predictive modeling

Running an OR is similar to playing a game of Tetris. There are a lot of moving pieces that have to fit together perfectly. In order to make every piece fit together perfectly, predictive modeling technology is essential. Case length, or case duration, is one of the most challenging components of running a seamless OR. Often, there are varying opinions regarding how long a case is really going to take. When a case duration is inaccurate, it can throw the remainder of the day into delays and create significant operational challenges.

There are technologies that generate case duration based on several inputs versus traditional models of case duration. Traditionally, an OR will schedule case duration based on a surgeon’s case duration average, what the surgeon’s office recommends, or how long the surgeon thinks it will take to complete the case. Case duration can drastically change based on team composition. For example, adding a first assist or a resident to a case can significantly alter the expected case duration. Advancements in predictive modeling allow the OR schedulers and teams to optimize time by improving schedule duration accuracy.

Technology in the OR should be progressive. It should consider ways to maximize resources while maintaining excellent patient outcomes. Increasing automated documentation, enhancing communication, and leveraging predictive technology are the three considerations moving into 2024. Before incorporating new technology or adopting enhancements, questions that I always ask:

1. Will it benefit our patients and the community we serve?
2. Will it benefit our teams?
3. Does it integrate/interface with the technology that we already have?

If the answer is yes, it is worth your time.

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