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Evaluation of Causes and Financial Impact of Weekend Operating Room Delays at a Level 1 Trauma Center: A One-Year Retrospective Analysis
Background The current study aimed to: (1) evaluate the prevalence of delays in first-start case times over the course of one year for trauma-related orthopedic surgery on weekends, (2) identify the cited cause for delay, and (3) estimate the cost created by delays identified in this study. We hypothesize that weekend days with first-start orthopedic trauma cases will experience delays more frequently that weekdays with similar cases.
Methods An institutional database was used to query weekend first start OR cases from 2022-2023. Patients undergoing operative intervention for orthopedic trauma related hospital presentations were identified by retrospective chart review. Incidence and documented reasons for weekend first start cases were recorded. On-time first start case was defined as in-room time of 7:30AM.
Results Of the 106 weekend days included in this study, 88 first-start cases were recorded, while 18 days did not have a first-start case that met the inclusion criteria outlined in this study. The mean time (AM =/- SD minutes) for assigned room, pre-op, surgeon ready, in room, OR ready, anesthesia ready, anesthesia start, and case start were 4:47 (± 2:14), 07:25 (± 0:56), 7:26 (± 0:38), 8:09 (± 0:38), 7:46 (±0:35), 8:26 (± 0:39), 8:07 (± 0:38), 8:50 (± 0:41) respectively. Of the possible causes, a reason was not recorded in 27% of cases. This was followed by patient factors, insufficient anesthesia coverage, transport, OR delays, surgeon factors, “weekend” as the stated reason, and pre-op delays. There was no notable difference in on-time first start cases based on weekend day or time of year. Of the 88 cases included in this study, the median “in room” time was 08:02. This represents a 32-minute delay based on the scheduled “in room” time of 07:30. When totaled over all 88 cases, this amounts to 2,816 minutes of delay, or roughly $84,000 in lost revenue, in first start orthopedic trauma cases on weekends in 2022.
Conclusion
Our institution had 0% of weekend first-start cases start on time. The common occurrence of delays in weekend cases highlights the need for process improvement and schedule adjustment to maximize efficiency and personnel usage.