The ePA-digital progress monitor screen in the operation room – fundament for an efficient time management

Aims/Background:

The electronic patient record (ePA) Ulm was developed by the ENT department Ulm and the Wilken Software Group. The integrated progress monitor screen allows all team members of the department to track the progress of the four operation rooms (OR) in real time. Furthermore the surgery planning of the department is done using the progress monitor. Electronic staff duty and holiday planning are integrated.

Methods:

We performed a retrospective analysis of the OR occupancy rate two respectively four years before and after establishment of the OR progress monitor screen.

Results:

Comparing 2-year periods before and after working with the progress screen, the number of surgery increased by 21.7%. When comparing 4-year periods, an increase of 39.5% can be detected. It is noteworthy that the increase in the number of operations was possible with a constant number of physicians and operating room capacity although in particular operations with a length ≥180 min were carried out.

Discussion and Conclusions:

The prospective, graphical and interlinked digital surgery planning and the possibility of a retrospective analysis significantly increased the efficiency and occupancy rate of the four operating theaters. Bias like personal changes are to be considered in the interpretation of the numbers. Nevertheless, the ePA progress monitor screen is the basis of surgery planning for all responsible staff members.

Publication History

Publication Date:
23 April 2019 (online)