Somnia Anesthesia Services recently presented a free webinar entitled "Keeping Your Surgeons Satisfied — The Role of Anesthesia Management in Meeting Their Demands and Optimizing the OR."
Efficiency also requires strong anesthesia leadership and management, according to Dr. Martin. A good anesthesia group can improve scheduling and planning for late or add-on cases as well as improve the allocation of OR and anesthesia resources for high volume anesthesia areas, such as the OR and obstetrics, according to Dr. Martin. They can also address the concerns of patients, including wait times, adequate pain control, reduced chance of post-operative nausea and vomiting and communication with the patient's family. Ensuring a proper staffing model (whether MD only or a mix of MDs and CRNAs) is another way an anesthesia group can help ensure efficiency.
Mr. Edwards next discussed the importance of OR efficiency and a strong anesthesia partner from the CEO point of view. Ensuring quality care, surgeon satisfaction, good morale, cost savings and profitability are among a CEO's responsibilities, and as the OR is a major revenue center, efficiency in this area is key, he says.
Scheduling abuse and after hours costs are two areas Mr. Edwards highlighted as negatively impacting the efficiency and growth of a hospital's OR. Scheduling issues include improper use of block scheduling, failure to define procedure for emergent or urgent cases and poor management of evening and weekend schedules. After hours cost-related issues include increased anesthesia and labor costs, decreased morale and quality and patient safety issues, according to Mr. Edwards.
In the case of Greater Hazelton, the anesthesia partner developed many of the policies that helped address these areas of concern. The group managed many areas including control of afternoon cases, mediating in decisions involving case bumping and cancellations and establishing protocols for bringing in the second call team. Mr. Edwards also said the group helped to create policies regarding punctuality for surgeons and anesthesia team members, surgical time-outs and pre- and post-operative documentation.
Mr. Edwards also noted the need for the anesthesia team to play a leadership role in the OR to help manage and optimize OR utilization for weekend and weekday cases, allocating resources efficiently through block scheduling and proper staffing models.
Making the OR an environment where surgeons and staff members are taken care of and are productive and appreciated is key to an efficient OR, Mr. Edwards said.
Dr. Koch concluded the presentation by highlighting the priorities of a good anesthesia group:
He also noted some of the challenges hospitals face with finding quality anesthesia management and some of the factors leading to increasing anesthesia costs:
Dr. Koch said in order to maximize efficiencies in the OR to combat the rising costs, hospitals should view their anesthesia provider as "a purveyor of solutions" and as an important member of the OR team.
Download the Webinar presentation by clicking here.
View the Webinar by clicking here (wmv). We suggest you download the video to your computer before viewing to ensure better quality. If you have problems viewing the video, which is in Windows Media Video format, you can use a program like VLC media player, free for download here.
Learn more about Somnia Anesthesia Services.
Speakers were Maureen Martin, MD, chief of surgery at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, Calif.; Jim Edwards, CEO of Greater Hazelton (Pa.) Health Alliance; and Marc Koch, MD, president and CEO of Somnia.
Dr. Martin began the presentation, discussing the importance of collaboration between anesthesia staff and hospital staff to improve OR efficiency. The OR provides 60-70 percent of the hospital's revenue, and as surgeons are the key customers of this area, ensuring surgeons are motivated is key, she said.
To ensure a good partnership among surgeons, the anesthesia group and the facility, hospitals should define what efficiency means for all stakeholders in the OR, according to Dr. Martin. Hospitals should provide:
- Leadership development;
- Competitive compensation;
- Strong OR leadership;
- Stable, consistent anesthesia coverage and an anesthesia team with a partnership attitude; and
- Empowered OR committees to make necessary changes to develop OR efficiencies.
Efficiency also requires strong anesthesia leadership and management, according to Dr. Martin. A good anesthesia group can improve scheduling and planning for late or add-on cases as well as improve the allocation of OR and anesthesia resources for high volume anesthesia areas, such as the OR and obstetrics, according to Dr. Martin. They can also address the concerns of patients, including wait times, adequate pain control, reduced chance of post-operative nausea and vomiting and communication with the patient's family. Ensuring a proper staffing model (whether MD only or a mix of MDs and CRNAs) is another way an anesthesia group can help ensure efficiency.
Mr. Edwards next discussed the importance of OR efficiency and a strong anesthesia partner from the CEO point of view. Ensuring quality care, surgeon satisfaction, good morale, cost savings and profitability are among a CEO's responsibilities, and as the OR is a major revenue center, efficiency in this area is key, he says.
Scheduling abuse and after hours costs are two areas Mr. Edwards highlighted as negatively impacting the efficiency and growth of a hospital's OR. Scheduling issues include improper use of block scheduling, failure to define procedure for emergent or urgent cases and poor management of evening and weekend schedules. After hours cost-related issues include increased anesthesia and labor costs, decreased morale and quality and patient safety issues, according to Mr. Edwards.
In the case of Greater Hazelton, the anesthesia partner developed many of the policies that helped address these areas of concern. The group managed many areas including control of afternoon cases, mediating in decisions involving case bumping and cancellations and establishing protocols for bringing in the second call team. Mr. Edwards also said the group helped to create policies regarding punctuality for surgeons and anesthesia team members, surgical time-outs and pre- and post-operative documentation.
Mr. Edwards also noted the need for the anesthesia team to play a leadership role in the OR to help manage and optimize OR utilization for weekend and weekday cases, allocating resources efficiently through block scheduling and proper staffing models.
Making the OR an environment where surgeons and staff members are taken care of and are productive and appreciated is key to an efficient OR, Mr. Edwards said.
Dr. Koch concluded the presentation by highlighting the priorities of a good anesthesia group:
- Collaborative and engaged leadership
- Cohesive anesthesia department
- Exceptional quality management program
- Standardized policies and procedures
- Lower anesthesia expenses
- Lower cost per case
He also noted some of the challenges hospitals face with finding quality anesthesia management and some of the factors leading to increasing anesthesia costs:
- Supply of good anesthesiologists is down as there are not enough new graduates in the pipeline;
- Baby boomers and other aging, active populations have increased the demand for surgery; and
- Competition is growing between ASCs and other hospitals in area for quality anesthesia services.
Dr. Koch said in order to maximize efficiencies in the OR to combat the rising costs, hospitals should view their anesthesia provider as "a purveyor of solutions" and as an important member of the OR team.
Download the Webinar presentation by clicking here.
View the Webinar by clicking here (wmv). We suggest you download the video to your computer before viewing to ensure better quality. If you have problems viewing the video, which is in Windows Media Video format, you can use a program like VLC media player, free for download here.
Learn more about Somnia Anesthesia Services.