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Manual of Practice Management for Ambulatory Surgery Centers pp 95–112Cite as

Scheduling: Optimal Block Schedule, Improving Utilization

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Abstract

Ambulatory surgery centers are distinct from their mixed-use counterparts because the clinical workflow is usually stable and predictable. Ambulatory surgery centers should have a competitive advantage when they are efficiently and effectively managed. Design thinking is an iterative process by which improvement is made to a dynamic system. The optimization of an ambulatory surgery center requires an approach that examines not just each component or constraint, but also considers the local environment, process, stakeholders and barriers as a dynamic system each with stressors and opportunities for improvement. Efficiency and optimization can be reached in each component using traditional metrics; however, if one does not consider the system as a whole, true optimization cannot be achieved.

“Managing a company with monthly reports is like trying to drive a car by watching the rear view mirror and tracking the double yellow line.”

—Myron Tribus

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA

    Mitchell H. Tsai & Jaspinder Sra

  2. Department of Surgery, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA

    Mitchell H. Tsai & David W. Sobel

  3. Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA

    Mitchell H. Tsai

  4. Department of Anesthesiology, University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN, USA

    Steven D. Boggs

Authors
  1. Mitchell H. Tsai
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  2. David W. Sobel
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  3. Jaspinder Sra
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  4. Steven D. Boggs
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mitchell H. Tsai .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Penn State Health, Hershey, PA, USA

    Niraja Rajan

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Tsai, M.H., Sobel, D.W., Sra, J., Boggs, S.D. (2020). Scheduling: Optimal Block Schedule, Improving Utilization. In: Rajan, N. (eds) Manual of Practice Management for Ambulatory Surgery Centers. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19171-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19171-9_7

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-19171-9

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