Are you redesigning your operating room? There are so many things you have to think about—from where to get your OR cabinets to how you can fit in all of the medical devices that are needed.
Let's go through the best practices for operating room (OR) layouts.
Why is the layout of the operating room so crucial? This is because it is directly related to the performance and efficiency of the surgeon and other OR personnel, and the general healthcare facility it belongs to.
An operating room with a very poor layout is inefficient. When all the equipment and devices are placed incorrectly, the staff will have a hard time doing their job. Patients will also have a hard time when an OR is poorly laid out.
That's why a lot of thought should be given to the overall layout of the operating room.
There is always room for improving the efficiency of your operating room. You can get more experts on your teams by getting the best surgeons or OR nurses and buying the best equipment to serve your patients better.
But there is another aspect of the operating room that you should think about and that is the layout. We have a list here of some of the best practices to get a OR workflow.
This practice may take a while but it will be well worth it if you get to implement it. You have to build a culture of accountability among your team members.
Everyone should learn how to be accountable for their actions. When everyone does that, they will be more careful with each and every action that they take.
Just think about the recurring problems that you have in the OR. Why is it always happening? Is it a recurring problem because no one is taking responsibility?
That can be resolved when you have built a culture of accountability. People will be more careful about the actions that they take and they will be more conscious about correcting bad habits.
You need to set clear expectations for the OR staff as to what it is that you want to achieve with your operating room. Have a meeting with them to discuss the goals of the entire OR staff and then hold coaching sessions with each one to set their own personal goals.
What should the personal goals of the staff be? That depends on their job and their individual situations. As a manager, it is up to you to help them figure out what their individual goals should be.
You need to get ahead of yourself to improve the workflow in your OR. Before you do this, you have to find out how much of your OR capacity is being used, and go ahead and increase the number of cases being treated each day.
However, don't increase it drastically and do it day-by-day, from there, you can figure out how you can improve the workflow.
Another significant reason why you should increase the number of cases is to improve the turnover time in your OR. The more cases you have, the quicker the turnover time would be between each procedure.
This can also help decrease cancellations—because when the hospital schedule is full, it would be harder for patients to cancel appointments.
Now, you might be thinking that increasing the number of cases each day is not doable with the current setup that you have. But here are a few ideas that you can try:
These are just some of the things that you can do to increase the number of cases in your OR and improve your workflow there.
The operating room is not your ordinary workplace. Those who work inside an OR experience a great level of stress and you can expect to have a low retention rate.
People could be compelled to leave for a variety of reasons and hiring and training new staff is costly and time-consuming. You should take steps to improve your retention because the more experienced your OR staff will be, the better your workflow will become.
What steps can you take to improve retention? For starters, you can increase the pay that they are getting and give non-monetary perks.
You must provide training to all your staff members that aim to improve their efficiency inside the operating room. The training can cover the use of the latest medical equipment that you have available.
Their training can also cover the latest techniques that would seek to improve their efficiency when conducting procedures.
Even if you have a culture of accountability and you train all your staff, if your OR has a poor layout, then your workflow will still not improve.
To make improvements, you will need to take a look at the layout of the room and see if it is holding the staff back from their job.
To improve the layout of your operating room, you may need to upgrade your storage solutions. A thorough consultation is the first step in our outstanding customer service experience, which aims to identify any room for efficiency gains. In the end, we come to work every day to assist clients who assist others.
By getting in touch with us for a consultation regarding your operating room storage requirements, contact us at 800-393-6090 at Distribution Systems International today!
With 21 years of sales management, marketing, P&L responsibility, business development, national account, and channel management responsibilities under his belt, Ian has established himself as a high achiever across multiple business functions. Ian was part of a small team who started a new business unit for Stanley Black & Decker in Asia from Y10’ to Y14’. He lived in Shanghai, China for two years, then continued to commercialize and scale the business throughout the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions for another two years (4 years of International experience). Ian played college football at the University of Colorado from 96’ to 00’. His core skills sets include; drive, strong work ethic, team player, a builder mentality with high energy, motivator with the passion, purpose, and a track record to prove it.
