February 3, 2025

 

• Unlock OR Efficiency With a Holistic, Data-Driven Approach
• Charting a New Course in Healthcare
• Lessons in Integrating Health Systems

Unlock OR Efficiency With a Holistic, Data-Driven Approach

Operating rooms are the clinical and financial hubs of hospitals, generating significant revenue while driving patient outcomes. Traditional improvement efforts often focus on isolated challenges, such as reclaiming unused block time, but these piecemeal approaches fall short of addressing systemic inefficiencies.

A holistic, data-driven strategy can align the three interconnected pillars of perioperative performance—block management, case planning and staff coordination—creating a synchronized and efficient OR ecosystem. Here’s how:

1. Block Management

   Inefficient block allocation often leads to underutilized OR time, limited access for surgical teams and frustration among stakeholders. Proactive management and data-driven scheduling can ensure that block time reflects true demand, maximizing resource utilization and access.

2. Case Planning

   Effective case coordination requires more than a schedule—it demands alignment across patient needs, resource availability and workflows. By improving visibility and communication, hospitals can reduce delays, prevent scheduling conflicts and improve patient and staff satisfaction.

3. Staff Coordination

   Traditional staffing models often fail to adapt to fluctuating OR demands, resulting in overstaffing or shortages. Advanced forecasting tools can optimize staff alignment, ensuring the right expertise is available at the right time while reducing burnout and inefficiencies.

A comprehensive transformation requires not just technology but also expert-led change management to align stakeholders and sustain results. By adopting this integrated approach, hospitals can realize greater operational efficiency, enhanced ROI and better patient outcomes.

Learn how healthcare leaders are using AI, prescriptive and predictive analytics and change management strategies to realize the full potential of OR efficiency in this white paper from healthcare AI expert LeanTaaS.

LeanTaaS, an ACHE Premier Corporate Partner, provided the content above.

Back to Top ▲

Charting a New Course in Healthcare

Innovative solutions and collaborative efforts are required to face the critical sustainability challenges in healthcare, according to Robert W. Allen, FACHE, president and CEO, Intermountain Healthcare. He believes there are opportunities for positive transformation.

Allen believes health systems, thought leaders, philanthropists and government officials can unite to tackle pressing issues and reshape the future of healthcare for the better. He will dive into this topic during his Leadership Insights presentation Tuesday, March 25, at Congress on Healthcare Leadership in Houston.

Allen will be joined by moderator John F. Tejeda, DHA, DFAAPA, FACHE, president and CEO, Perspective Health Partners, in the session “Coming Together to Chart a New Course for Healthcare.” To learn about this session and others or to register, visit the ACHE Congress website.

Back to Top ▲

Lessons in Integrating Health Systems

Bringing together two separate health systems to form one integrated system requires more than a name change. Tina Freese Decker, FACHE, president and CEO of Michigan-based Corewell Health, has firsthand experience with this.

Investing in a unified culture that brings the whole organization together is paramount. Freese Decker led the integration of Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health. “We brought together two leading health systems to form a new system committed to helping everyone be well so that they can live their healthiest life possible,” says Freese Decker.

“A unified culture is essential to bringing people together to feel—at their core—like one team, which we did through connecting our technology and by focusing on our people,” says Freese Decker. Read more about Freese Decker’s experience and the formation of Corewell Health.

Back to Top ▲