Challenge: Address delays in the Operating Room (OR) workflow
Key Contributions
- Document clinical dependencies and friction points leading to increased surgical delays and cancellations, costing the facility millions.
- Collaborated with Pre-Op nurses, Surgeons, Schedulers, Anesthesia, and PACU nurses to understand current workflow, documented findings in a journey map, and performed cost analysis of delays.
- Presented findings to leadership, resulting in leading five new project initiatives currently ongoing.
- Collaborated with Pre-Op nurses, Surgeons, Schedulers, Anesthesia, and PACU nurses to understand current workflow, documented findings in a journey map, and performed cost analysis of delays.
- Presented findings to leadership, resulting in leading five new project initiatives currently ongoing.
Project Highlight: OR Service Blueprint
Approach
- Conducted extensive discovery research, including interviews with clinicians (Surgeons, Anesthesia, OR Nurses, Post-surgical nurses) and administrators (Executive Sponsors, Executive Leadership Board, Schedulers, Business Managers, Facility Management)
- OR immersion to follow surgical cases through their day to observe how staff interact, problem solve, and to ask clarifying questions
- Drafted mapping and iterated in collaboration with surgeons, nurses, and administrators to ensure accuracy
- OR immersion to follow surgical cases through their day to observe how staff interact, problem solve, and to ask clarifying questions
- Drafted mapping and iterated in collaboration with surgeons, nurses, and administrators to ensure accuracy
Discovery Observations
- Over 65,000 minutes of delay in surgical cases costing over $6 million.
- Inefficient pre-surgical process and paperwork frustrated staff who needed to problem-solve on the day of surgery.
- Poor surgical experiences for Veterans who showed up early but had to wait for surgery.
- Bed turnover after surgery was riddled with inefficiencies and frustration.
- Inefficient pre-surgical process and paperwork frustrated staff who needed to problem-solve on the day of surgery.
- Poor surgical experiences for Veterans who showed up early but had to wait for surgery.
- Bed turnover after surgery was riddled with inefficiencies and frustration.
Outcome
- OR Service Blueprint to facilitate alignment and conversation.
- 7 solutions to address observed problems that focused on Leader Ownership, new standards for pre-surgical paperwork, digital solutions to better map surgical timeframes across surgeons and procedures, and staffing solutions.
- Writeup outlining solutions, background context, steps, and KPIs for staff to pilot. Each pilot was assigned to a clinical leader to implement, and I transitioned to an advisory role to help with measurement and readouts.
- 7 solutions to address observed problems that focused on Leader Ownership, new standards for pre-surgical paperwork, digital solutions to better map surgical timeframes across surgeons and procedures, and staffing solutions.
- Writeup outlining solutions, background context, steps, and KPIs for staff to pilot. Each pilot was assigned to a clinical leader to implement, and I transitioned to an advisory role to help with measurement and readouts.
