Beyond surgical block time utilization: a holistic approach to optimizing the OR
The primary constraint to the timely delivery of patient care is access to often-scarce resources, and fewer resources are more scarce than operating room (OR) time. Available OR time is often in short supply, and the consistently unpredictable demand for it compounds the challenge of allocating and utilizing it optimally. Traditional means of measuring the […]
Becker’s 12th Annual Meeting – highlighting health system capacity management success
On April 26, 2022, as part of the upcoming Becker’s Hospital Review 12th Annual Meeting, LeanTaaS will present a special half-day Transform event. Our experts will partner with health system leaders to discuss the inroads we have made in optimizing capacity during a time when expanding healthcare access with minimal cost is especially critical. The event […]
UCHealth’s new success in directing patient flow, part 2: on the move – knowing when to transfer patients
The first part of this series, which discussed hospitals’ underlying challenges in bed management and directing patient flow, and how UCHealth equipped staff to solve delayed inpatient admissions, is available here. As concluded in the previous post, directing patient flow throughout the hospital in a timely manner is a complex process. Ensuring the right beds are available for […]
UCHealth’s new success in directing patient flow, part 1: a data-driven approach to hospital bed management
In many hospitals, the ongoing inability to place the right patients in the right bed at the right time is both a burden and source of frustration for clinicians and staff. Patients are impacted by barriers to inpatient beds as well. Along with their families, they grow tired waiting hours when it comes to admissions, […]
Three powerful ways to improve operating room utilization
No matter how they calculate it, there’s room for perioperative departments to improve operating room utilization if it’s less than 80%. Surgical leaders might be happy with their utilization as a metric, but there are always more problems to solve. These may include new surgeons not being able to get block time, surgical block owners […]
Using an innovative approach to address critical staffing challenges in operating rooms (Becker’s Hospital Review)
Originally published in Becker’s Hospital Review in February 2022. Reports from the front lines of hospital perioperative departments show a daily, ongoing staffing crisis. Short-handed nurses and other personnel are strained to handle the unpredictable capacity demands of their service lines. These critical shortages of both contracted and full-time staff are driving a cycle that increases costs […]
Helping bed staff achieve more: five goals to optimize capacity and direct inpatient flow
This article was originally published on Becker’s Hospital Review in February 2022. Severe staff shortages, new COVID variants, and unpredictable surges are making it critical for hospitals to optimize inpatient capacity. The short-handed staff who are responsible for capacity decisions must be fully equipped to direct patient flow safely, quickly, and to the best possible use of […]
Centralized surgical scheduling: an innovative model to streamline health systems, address case backlogs
In the wake of COVID-19 surges, many hospital leaders are struggling to work through an extensive backlog of cases with limited operating rooms (ORs) and staff available. Certain staff, such as often-undervalued and underestimated perioperative schedulers, are especially stretched since their work requires aligning the needs of patients, surgeons, and others across multiple locations and resources. […]
Webinar Writeup: Doing more with less – WakeMed’s experience with optimizing operating room capacity
At the Winter 2021 LeanTaaS Transform Hospital Operations Summit, Jon Peterson, Business Manager of Perioperative Services at WakeMed Health, and Ashley Walsh, Vice President, Client Services – iQueue for Operating Rooms and Inpatient Beds, discussed how giving staff and physicians full data transparency enabled them to promote optimal operating room utilization and inpatient capacity. See the full conversation […]
Webinar Writeup: How Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is transforming infusion center scheduling
The Winter 2021 LeanTaaS Transform Hospital Operations Virtual Summit featured a conversation between Emily McCambridge Kowalski, Patient Access Operations Manager — Infusion, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and Armand Indra, Product Implementation and Customer Success Manager at LeanTaaS, on SCCA’s ongoing success in infusion center scheduling optimization to the benefit of nurses, staff, and patients. Results have […]