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Surgical Patient Care pp 313–325Cite as

Operating Room Management, Measures of OR Efficiency, and Cost-Effectiveness

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Abstract

Proper management of the operating room (OR) suite is important so that patients can get safe and efficient care. Much of the decision-making by the OR manager needs to be done prior to the day of surgery in order to appropriately allocate OR time, assign staffing, and estimate case durations. OR managers are also responsible for last-minute decisions on the day of surgery, such as determining which OR should perform add-on cases and emergencies. This chapter reviews key aspects of OR management including basic definitions, case duration predictions, OR time allocation and utilization, staffing, and measures of OR efficiency. These variables can help the OR manager make the best use of OR time and staff to maximize throughput of cases. Leadership ability is also a key component of OR suite management whereby teamwork and cooperation are encouraged so that OR personnel enjoy a healthy work environment.

“First rule of leadership: everything is your fault.”

—A Bug’s Life

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Originally printed in “Anesthesia & Analgesia” Vol. 108, Issue 3, Jan 1, 2009.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Stanford Hospitals and Clinics, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA, 94304, USA

    Sanjana Vig MD, MBA, Bassam Kadry MD & Alex Macario MD, MBA

Authors
  1. Sanjana Vig MD, MBA
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  2. Bassam Kadry MD
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  3. Alex Macario MD, MBA
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sanjana Vig MD, MBA .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety & Quality, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Juan A. Sanchez

  2. Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation and Kyle John Rymiszewski Research Scholar, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA

    Paul Barach

  3. Department of Surgery Center for Healthcare Studies Institute for Public Health and Medicine Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Julie K. Johnson

  4. Division of Cardiovascular Surgery Johns Hopkins All Children’s Heart Institute Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Johns Hopkins University, Saint Petersburg, FL, USA

    Jeffrey P. Jacobs

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Vig, S., Kadry, B., Macario, A. (2017). Operating Room Management, Measures of OR Efficiency, and Cost-Effectiveness. In: Sanchez, J., Barach, P., Johnson, J., Jacobs, J. (eds) Surgical Patient Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44010-1_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44010-1_20

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-44008-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-44010-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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