Data, data, on the server: Challenges in applying data analysis to operating room management

摘要

FOR the past decade and a half, pioneering work has been done to quantify mathematically various elements of operating room (OR) management including how to allocate the optimal amount of OR time for each room and service so that overall nurse and anesthesiology staffing costs are minimized. In this issue of Anesthesiology, an excellent study from Vanderbilt University adds to this literature by examining statistical methods to predict future OR demand. This was done by examining the OR schedule, as case bookings accumulate weeks before the day of surgery, to predict how busy a given day in the future will be. Their work is also laudable because they implemented in their hospital what they found in their study. The prediction of future case volume was used to achieve a key priority for the OR manager-adjusting OR staffing levels to match workload as closely as possible while reducing costs by an estimated 2.8 Full Time Equivalents per year.