Background: We undertook an operating room (OR) process improvement project to increase first case on-time starts (FCOTS) in the neurosurgical ORs at a tertiary care academic medical center. We engaged the neurosurgical perioperative team which included neurosurgeons, neuroanesthesiologists, and nurses in a shared goal of improving FCOTS.
Methods: Our project involved hiring a new service manager and a focused shared effort on improving FCOTS. After project completion, we conducted a retrospective analysis of FCOTS in 6 neurosurgical ORs. If patients were not in the OR within 5 minutes of scheduled start time, it was considered a late start. Factors predicting delayed start were also identified. During the same period, first cases performed outside the neurosurgical ORs served as a control group.
Results: A total of 2328 elective neurosurgical cases were evaluated. The baseline FCOTS from November 2009 to March 2010 was 33%. The first performance shift occurred during March 2010 to January 2011 when FCOTS increased to 44%. In the second performance shift between January 2011 and November 2011 during the implementation phase of this quality improvement project, FCOTS rose to 68% and has continued to increase. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified the following as significant predictors of delayed start: female sex (odds ratio [OR]=0.771; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.599-0.943), certified registered nurse anesthetists on the case (OR=0.750; 95% CI, 0.576-0.924), cases done on Friday (OR=0.551; 95% CI, 0.312-0.791), and American Society of Anesthesiologists status IV (OR=0.530; 95% CI, 0.157-0.903).
Conclusion: The quality improvement project, which was implemented in 2 phases, successfully increased the FCOTS rate in our neurosurgical ORs from 33% to 68%.