Maximizing Robotic Procedures in Healthcare: Strategies for Effective Utilization and Increased Surgical Volume

Robotic surgery has grown a lot in the U.S. For example, a study in Michigan showed robotic surgeries went from 1.8% to 15.1% of all surgeries between 2012 and 2018. Some surgeries, like inguinal hernia repairs, had a big increase in robotic use—41 times more. The da Vinci systems made by Intuitive Surgical are the most popular. They have trained over 60,000 surgeons worldwide and helped with more than 12 million robotic surgeries.

Patients benefit from robotic surgeries because these surgeries use smaller cuts, cause less blood loss, help people heal faster, reduce pain, and shorten hospital stays. Surgeons also find it easier to work because they can sit down, use tools that move like wrists, and see in 3D. Hospitals with growing robotic programs have seen better patient results and sometimes lower costs because fewer problems happen after surgery.

Even with all these benefits, many hospitals in the U.S. do not use their robotic systems fully. This is partly because these systems are very expensive to buy and keep. Hospitals often wait to buy more robots until they use their current ones better. Fixing these problems is important to make robotic surgery work well and pay off financially.

Challenges Limiting Robotic Surgery Utilization

• Blocked Scheduling Practices: Many hospitals give certain surgery times only to specific surgeons or departments. If those times are not fully used, the robotic rooms sit empty and others cannot use them.
• Poor Asset Management: Sometimes, non-robotic surgeries are scheduled in robotic rooms because the scheduling system does not separate them well. This wastes the robot and its resources.
• Limited Robotic Rooms: Robots cost a lot, so hospitals often have only a few. This creates a bottleneck where demand is higher than available robot time, keeping usage low.
• Inefficient Scheduling and Communication: It can be hard to see all surgery schedules, surgeon preferences, and case needs clearly. This makes it difficult to use rooms well and causes last-minute changes or cancellations.

These problems lead to wasted operating room time, longer waits for patients, and lower financial returns on the robotic systems.

Strategies for Effective Utilization of Robotic Procedures

1. Encouraging Timely Release of Unused Block Time

Hospitals are using computer tools like predictive analytics and machine learning to find out early when robotic operating room time will not be used. Sometimes, they know this a month in advance. They ask the surgeons or departments who have this time to give it back quickly. Then, other surgeons can use it. This helps use the rooms more often.

For example, software like Qventus’ Surgical Growth solution uses AI to predict unused time. It then reminds the owners to release these times for others. This way, resources do not go to waste.

2. Optimizing Block Allocation based on Demand and Growth Areas

Rush University Medical Center made robot surgery work better by matching surgery times to what surgeons need and focusing on areas that are growing fast, like robotics and spine surgery. They increased the number of surgeries by 5% and made surgeons use their time better by 12%. They also made sure to give more time for difficult cases.

3. Avoiding Non-Robotic Cases in Robotic ORs

A big problem is when non-robotic surgeries are scheduled in robotic rooms. This means the robot sits unused. AI scheduling systems help by marking the robotic rooms clearly and matching the right surgeries to these rooms. Training schedulers and making clear rules helps stop using robotic rooms for surgeries that do not need robots.

At Allina Health, avoiding non-robotic cases in robotic rooms helped robotic surgery volume grow by over 25%.

4. Expanding Use of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs)

Hospitals use ASCs more to do simpler surgeries outside the main hospital ORs. This frees the robotic ORs for complex cases that really need robots. Using the right place for each surgery cuts costs and lets hospitals do more surgeries overall.

Rush University Medical Center used ASCs this way to improve scheduling and increase surgery numbers.

Financial and Operational Benefits of Optimizing Robotic Surgery Utilization

• Increased Surgical Volume: Filling open surgery times and reusing unused time helps hospitals perform more robotic surgeries every month. Some hospitals added three or more robotic cases per OR monthly using these methods.
• Reduced Wait Times for Surgery: Before using AI scheduling, Ardent Health had patient wait times of one to three months. After improvements, these times got much shorter. Patients can get surgery faster.
• Higher Return on Investment (ROI): Hospitals get more value from robotic systems. For example, Qventus clients have seen up to 11 times their investment returned. CommonSpirit Health made over $40 million within 18 months by using AI tools that improve scheduling and block management.
• Enhanced Staff Efficiency: AI reduces back-and-forth scheduling talks and saves staff time. Connecting with Electronic Health Records (EHRs) also helps book surgeries faster, saving schedulers up to 100 hours a month.
• Better Use of Prime Time OR Slots: Hospitals like University of Kansas and Rush University Health System used prime surgery times better, increasing utilization by 4-5%. This matches important surgeries with the busiest hours.

Surgeon Engagement and Training Influence Robotic Utilization

Surgeons who are involved help robotic surgery use better. They make sure their time is used well, release unused times, and work with schedulers to avoid wrong room use.

Ochsner Health increased robotic surgery use by 10% after getting surgeons more involved in scheduling.

Also, surgeons with more robotic surgery experience have fewer problems and cost hospitals less. Surgeons doing many robotic surgeries each year see better patient outcomes and save money. This shows why it is important to train surgeons and have them focus on robotic cases.

AI-Driven Scheduling and Workflow Tools: Enhancing Robotic Surgery Utilization

• Predictive Scheduling: AI looks at past data, surgeon choices, how long surgeries usually take, and equipment needs. It predicts which OR times will be used well weeks ahead.
• Automated Block Release and Promotion: Systems like Qventus and LeanTaaS remind surgeons to give up unused robotic room time. Then, they help find other surgeons who can use that time.
• Matching Cases to Optimal Rooms and Times: AI assigns surgeries to the best OR based on needed tools, surgeon skills, and case difficulty. This stops wrong room use.
• Integrated Electronic Health Records (EHR) Connectivity: These AI tools work smoothly with hospital records systems like Epic. They reduce mistakes and speed up surgery bookings.
• Real-Time Analytics and Dashboards: Leaders get live updates about room use, surgery flow, and patient referrals. This helps them make quick decisions and keep improving.
• Resource Forecasting: AI predicts staff needs and equipment availability with surgery schedules. This reduces delays caused by missing resources.

These AI tools improve operations by making schedules clearer, lowering bottlenecks, and letting managers plan better. Hospitals like Baptist Health and OHSU saw quick increases in robotic surgery use after adding these tools.

Real-World Applications and Results from U.S. Health Systems

• Ardent Health: Managing 30 hospitals in six states, Ardent Health used Qventus tools to stop stagnant surgery volumes and cut long wait times from 1-3 months. AI helped tailor schedules for surgeons and increased robotic surgeries.
• Allina Health: Allina grew robotic surgery volume by over 25% through better room use and releasing unused times. They also saw an 18% increase in complex spine surgeries.
• RUSH University Medical Center: Rush raised surgery volume by 5%, case minutes by 8%, and prime OR use by 4% by matching block times to surgeon needs and using ambulatory surgery centers.
• CommonSpirit Health: Using LeanTaaS’ iQueue system, CommonSpirit made $40 million in 18 months by improving robotic surgery scheduling and room use.
• University of Kansas Health System: They grew block use by 20% and prime time use by nearly 5% even though they had 7% fewer OR rooms, showing efficient use of robotic surgery space.

These examples show that using data, AI, surgeon involvement, and smart resource use can greatly improve robotic surgery numbers and financial results.

Staffing and Workflow Optimization in Robotic Surgery

Operating room time is a major cost for robotic surgeries. Studies show that having teams trained just for robotic surgery cuts the time needed to set up the robot, fix problems, and change rooms between cases.

Hospitals with special robotic teams cut big case delays by half and save about 25 minutes on room turnover times.

Better team work and smart workflow lead to more surgeries done, lower cost per surgery, and better care quality. Also, moving easier robotic cases to ambulatory settings lowers costs and frees OR time for harder surgeries.

Summary of Key Recommendations for Healthcare Administrators and IT Managers

• Use AI scheduling tools to predict unused robotic OR times, send automatic reminders to release time, and match surgeries with open slots based on surgeons and equipment.
• Get surgeons involved in planning block times and schedules to reduce unused time and share robotic room access.
• Make sure robotic OR rooms are clearly marked and protected so non-robotic surgeries don’t take their place.
• Train staff to build dedicated teams who handle robot setup and surgery flow well.
• Use ambulatory surgery centers to move simpler robotic cases, keeping main OR time free for difficult cases.
• Employ real-time data dashboards to watch room use and identify trends for better decisions.
• Connect scheduling and workflow tools with Electronic Health Records to reduce paperwork and booking errors.

By using these steps, healthcare organizations in the U.S. can give patients better access to robotic surgeries, lower wait times, improve results, and make robotic surgery programs financially stable.

Robotic surgery is a growing part of healthcare in America. Solving problems with data, technology, and teamwork can make robotic surgery programs more efficient, patient-focused, and profitable.