Published in
N°011 - May / June 2021
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Optimizing efficiency in the operating theater
By Arun B Mullaji(1), Ahmed A. Khalifa(2) in category UPDATE
(1) Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai, India. ORCID: 0000-0002-6622-7860. - (2) Orthopaedic Department, Qena faculty of medicine and University Hospital, South valley university, Qena, Egypt. ORCID: 0000-0002-0710-6487 / [email protected]
Introduction
Why increase Operating theater (OT) efficiency? Figure 1 depicts various factors that are impacted by OT efficiency. One vital aspect is the financial implications. However, the quality of delivered medical care is not just related to the amount of financial expenditure. Equally important is whether the healthcare system is well-organized and efficient, which means its ability to provide the intended outcomes, irrespective of the quantum of financial resources allocated, and even with a paucity of resources, in which case it is even more crucial [1-3].
Figure 1: Factors affected by OT efficiency
Operating theaters (OT) are considered a very significant segment of both financial revenue and expenditure in most hospitals [4]. OTs account for about 40% of a hospital’s costs and 60-70% of income [5], making it mandatory to improve the efficiency of OTs to enhance the surgical care provided within them to patients [4].
To improve the efficiency of the healthcare system in general and surgeries in particular, implementation of quality improvement programs such as the Six Sigma and the Lean systems (which were initially described for the manufacturing industry) into healthcare areas started in 1998 [6,7]. The two systems were combined into one - the “Lean Six Sigma”....
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