One key way to boost surgical throughput is by improving how operating rooms (ORs) are scheduled. Traditional booking systems often use fixed schedules and manual changes. This can cause OR time to be wasted and long wait lists for patients.
Fujitsu’s Surgical Capacity Optimization (SCO) is a data-based solution that helps with this problem. SCO looks at many factors like surgeon availability, staff schedules, equipment readiness, and hospital needs to plan the best surgery schedules. Instead of only moving existing OR blocks around, SCO uses math to resize and rearrange blocks. This creates more surgery time without building new ORs.
The system includes a Generative Block Scheduling Wizard. This tool lets surgery teams try out different schedules and see how changes will work before making them. This leads to better decisions and more efficient use of operating rooms.
For example, Baptist Health South Florida saw success using SCO. Javier Hernandez-Lichtl, CEO of Doctors Hospital, said it increased prime time OR capacity and raised revenue while keeping patient care a top focus. Buhos Hospitals used the data from SCO to improve teamwork among surgical staff, which helped workflows and surgery numbers.
SCO uses quantum-inspired computing, which works better than usual methods at handling complex scheduling problems. This helps hospitals find unused surgery time instead of just shifting existing time slots. The result is better efficiency and more patients getting surgery sooner.
Hospital managers and IT leaders in the U.S. can use smart scheduling tools like SCO to make better use of resources, reduce unused OR time, and lower the number of days patients wait for elective surgeries.
Lean management came from manufacturing but is now used in healthcare to fix inefficiencies. Hospitals using lean methods work to remove steps in workflows that don’t add value. This helps cut patient wait times and increase the number of surgeries done.
A study at a Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center showed how lean processes can help surgical services. The VA set up teams made of different experts to study surgical workflows. They used tools like value stream mapping and quick improvement workshops. They focused on problems like canceled appointments, repeated tests, poor communication between departments, and patients missing appointments.
After using lean methods, the results were clear:
This VA example shows that better communication and flexible OR scheduling are important parts of lean healthcare. Streamlined processes reduce appointment cancellations and keep patients moving through the system. Teams that combine clinical, administrative, and operations knowledge help make long-lasting changes.
Healthcare leaders across the U.S. can consider lean methods to shorten surgery wait times and make departments work better.
Lean healthcare aims to reduce activities that slow patient movement through clinics. A review of 40 studies from 2002 to 2018 on lean healthcare in outpatient clinics found steady improvements in patient flow and wait times.
The review showed:
Although less data is available for hospital surgical departments, outpatient clinic improvements offer useful lessons. Cutting long waits, reducing clinic time, and scheduling better all help patient throughput.
Staff and patient satisfaction improved slightly where measured, showing lean healthcare can help both sides of care.
Outpatient clinic managers in the U.S. can use lean ideas to better prepare patients for surgery and follow-up care. This helps keep patient flow moving smoothly.
Managing equipment well is important for smooth surgical work. Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) have been studied a lot in radiology and other clinical areas. These systems track equipment and help cut down scheduling delays.
A study in Radiography journal showed RTLS reduced average scheduling time for mobile X-ray machines by over half—from 12 minutes to 5 minutes per use. Equipment idle time also dropped by 25%, meaning resources were used better.
The system was reliable with over 95% signal strength after network fixes and less than 1% data loss. Radiographers said working conditions improved with fewer delays and clearer equipment status.
While initial costs and technical setup can be issues for U.S. hospitals, RTLS helps surgical throughput by making sure testing support is ready on time. This cuts bottlenecks caused by equipment downtime and improves overall operations.
RTLS can also be used to track staff or patient movement inside surgical units. This helps with coordination and cuts down waiting times.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technology bring new ways to solve problems in surgical scheduling and patient management. AI tools can study huge amounts of scheduling data and rules to suggest the best use of resources.
Simbo AI is one company that focuses on front-office phone automation and answering services using AI. For surgical departments in the U.S., AI solutions reduce the work needed to schedule appointments, give pre-op instructions, and follow up with patients. This helps patients get answers faster and lowers delays from communication gaps.
Besides front office tasks, AI can work with scheduling software to track surgeon availability, equipment status, and patient readiness. Automated reminders and smart forecasting lower no-shows and last-minute cancellations, which hurt surgical throughput.
When combined with lean methods and data-driven scheduling tools, AI-driven automation helps surgery departments run more smoothly. It frees clinical staff from repeated administrative jobs, improves patient communication, and leads to shorter waits and fuller operating rooms.
Because surgical scheduling and patient flow are very complex, hospital leaders and IT teams in the U.S. should consider adding AI tools like Simbo AI to their systems. This can cut down inefficiencies and boost surgical throughput.
Each of these methods helps improve surgical throughput in different ways. Healthcare administrators, owners, and IT managers in the U.S. can use a mix of them to lower patient wait times and increase the number of surgeries done. This improves both financial results and patient care.
The primary goal of Fujitsu’s SCO solution is to provide perioperative teams with data-driven insights to create the optimum operating room schedule, uncovering new surgery time and boosting utilization rates.
The SCO solution uses mathematically validated recommendations that consider multiple factors, including surgeon availability, staff, surgical equipment, and hospital preferences, to determine the most efficient scheduling outcomes.
The solution includes a Generative Block Scheduling Wizard that allows perioperative teams to model scenarios and analyze the potential impact of schedule changes before implementation.
Unlike traditional methods, Fujitsu’s solution addresses the root cause of scheduling inefficiencies rather than merely adjusting existing time blocks, leading to the creation of new operating hours.
Data is crucial for the SCO solution, providing insights that inform smart, data-driven recommendations, allowing for better allocation decisions and improved collaboration among perioperative teams.
Fujitsu employs quantum-inspired computing technology to optimize operating room planning, effectively solving complex scheduling problems that traditional computing struggles with.
By uncovering additional surgical capacity and reducing waiting lists, the SCO solution ultimately enhances staff and patient care experiences, prioritizing patient safety and satisfaction.
The SCO solution fosters a culture of collaboration by providing all stakeholders with necessary data, empowering them to make informed scheduling decisions that enhance department performance.
Hospitals can increase surgical throughput by utilizing recommendations from the SCO solution to boost productivity, access, and capacity while also reducing operational costs.
Hospitals like Baptist Health South Florida have reported enhanced performance-driven revenue potential in surgical services while maintaining a focus on patient care through improved scheduling efficiencies.
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