A Real-Time Status Monitor As A Tool For Operating Room Management

INTRODUCTION Optimal management of an operating room suite requires up to date information about the status of the cases in progress. Technology is now available that allows real-time analysis of operating suite utilization when integrated with a commercially available automated record keeper. We describe the development of such a system. METHODS A software tool to aid in real-time monitoring of operating room (OR) status was written with readily available application development systems. Using a previously installed LifeLog Patient Tracking System (Modular Instruments, Malvern, PA) tracking events (in room, prep, closure, etc.) were entered in the automated record and transmitted over a Netware 3.12 local area network (Novell, Inc., Provo, UT) where they were stored in an Oracle Workgroup Server 7.3 relational database (Oracle Corp., Redwood City, CA) Figure 1. To aid the O.R. management process, a computerized status screen, programmed in Visual Basic 4.0 (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA) and later converted to Visual Basic 5.0, was devised and installed in March 1997 (Figure 2). Figure 1 Figure 2. Operating Suite Status Screen This tool accessed the tracking data and continuously displayed patient status in each OR along with the real-time Gantt chart representing the entire suite. Mouse clicks on “hot spots” on both the grid and the chart display other screens with further details about the case and time intervals such as turnover time (minutes between previous patient leaving room and next patient entering 1) Figure 3. Turnover times were automatically calculated and logged in the Oracle database for later retrieval and analysis. A Real-Time Status Monitor As A Tool For Operating Room Management 2 of 3 Figure 2 Figure 3. Operating Room Detail Screen RESULTS Data is presented as mean turnover times for each month, along with the number of turnovers (Figure 4). The month of February, 1997 represents the month just prior to implementation of the tool while March and April, 1997 represent the months immediately afterwards. Figure 3 Figure 4. Turnover times before and after implementation of the system. # not significant compared to Feb. 1997 * P introducing us to the concepts involved in patient tracking. References 1. R T Donham, MD, PhD, W J Mazzei, MD, R L Jones MD, MBA, "Association of Anesthesia Clinical Directors' Procedural Times Glossary," American Journal of Anesthesiology, 23 S5 (1996), 4-12. 2. DeRiso B, Cantees K, Watkins WD, The Operating Rooms: Cost Center. Management in a Managed Care Environment International Anesthesia Clinics 33:133, 1995. A Real-Time Status Monitor As A Tool For Operating Room Management 3 of 3 Author Information F. M. Eaton, MD. Department of Anesthesiology, St. Louis University Health Sciences Center P. E. Krucylak, MD. Department of Anesthesiology, St. Louis University Health Sciences Center V. Foroughi, M.D. Department of Anesthesiology, St. Louis University Health Sciences Center L. J. Baudendistel, MD, Ph.D. Department of Anesthesiology, St. Louis University Health Sciences Center