True Cost of Operating Room Time: Implications for an Orthopaedic Trauma Service

Abstract

To derive an accurate estimate of the operating cost per minute for an orthopaedic trauma room. Retrospective economic analysis. Level II Trauma Center. Hospital cost-accounting system query. Direct fixed costs, direct variable costs, and hospital overhead. Operating room per minute costs include direct variable costs of $2.77, direct fixed costs of $2.47, and hospital overhead costs of $10.97. Total per minute costs amounted to $16.21. This does not include professional fees of anesthesiology or surgeons or the costs of soft goods or implants. This is the first published study to document the true per minute cost of an orthopaedic trauma operating room. Such information is valuable when defining the value of a dedicated operating room, negotiating employment contracts, defining call stipends, and brokering capital purchases for the orthopaedic trauma service. Economic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.