Arvin Parvathaneni, Anastasius O. Peter, Cindy Wilson, Tiffany Tankalavage and Pramil Cheriyath
Delay in performing operating procedures is one of the key factors that hinders optimal flow of patients and also has a significant impact on the economic outcome of the hospital. These delays could arise at various points due to multiple personnel involved in the process of performing a surgery. The main aim of the study was to identify possible causes for delay in performing operating procedures on time and instituting effective interventions which would prevent such delays. Positive reinforcement was used to encourage the surgical teams to perform the procedures on time and avoid the delays. The mean number of cases starting on time has improved from about 10% in March 2009 to about 80% in March 2011. With the use of effective intervention strategies delay in performing operating procedures can be reduced which ultimately improves overall patient satisfaction along with improving hospital costs.