Pre-Surgical Huddles Improve Operating Room Efficiency and Teamwork [25D

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Background: In the operating room (OR), new technologies, space and capacity demands, as well as competing resources place a premium on eliminating waste and improving efficiency. The objective of this quality improvement pilot initiative was to assess the impact of a pre-surgical team huddle on first time starts, turnaround times, and case duration. Our secondary aim was to assess team member satisfaction pre-and post-intervention. METHODS: For one urogynecologic surgeon in the outpatient OR, we measured the proportion of first case starts, average turnaround time, and average case length duration ten months before (n=37) and twenty months after (n=101) the implementation of a team pre-surgical huddle. The huddle was led by the attending surgeon at 7am with the entire surgical and anesthesia team, to discuss specific patient and equipment needs, as well as potential safety concerns, for all cases that day. RESULTS: The proportion of first case starts improved from pre to post intervention (90% to 100%, p = 0.10), turnaround times decreased (30.5 to 28.4 mins, p = 0.14), and overall case length remained essentially unchanged (92.7 to 93.8 min, p = 0.44). Most importantly, the OR team reported value in the project in terms of enhanced teamwork and communication, and personnel involved in this pilot study have rolled out the project to other service lines at our institution. CONCLUSION: Conclusion/Implications: A pre-surgical huddle was associated with modest improvements in OR efficiency and teamwork. Further research is needed to assess the impact of huddles on patient outcomes and provider satisfaction.