Can peri-operative quality be maintained in the drive for operating room efficiency? An American perspective

Hospitals in privately (US) and publicly funded medical systems around the world are scrutinizing every aspect of the financing and delivery of surgical care. Whereas many physicians believe championing operating room efficiency will compromise quality, this is not necessarily the case. Higher quality care could be less costly because ‘defects’ (e.g. complications) and rework of products and services are avoided. The challenge is to innovate in the surgical suite and to promote efficiency and quality concurrently. This chapter discusses different definitions of quality with emphasis on the Six Sigma methodology, opportunities for cost reduction with clinical pathways and Internet-related tools and insights obtained from recently published advances in applying sophisticated analytical tools from management science to the peri-operative environment. Healthcare providers will have to use innovations in information technologies, as well as scientifically derived operating room management analytical tools, to help control costs while maintaining the quality that each ‘customer’ of the surgery suite expects.