Determining Optimum Operating Room Utilization

TLDR

Economic considerations suggest that it is desirable to keep operating rooms fully used when staffed, but the optimum utilization of an operating room (OR) is not known. The study created an operating‑room simulation to determine the optimum utilization rate. The simulation imposed goals that cases start within 15 minutes of the scheduled time and finish no more than 15 minutes after the scheduled end of day. The simulation shows that 85–90 % utilization is achievable without delays, but higher case‑duration variability reduces attainable utilization.

Abstract

Economic considerations suggest that it is desirable to keep operating rooms fully used when staffed, but the optimum utilization of an operating room (OR) is not known. We created a simulation of an OR to define optimum utilization. We set operational goals of having cases start within 15 min of the scheduled time and of having the cases end no more than 15 min past the scheduled end of the day. Within these goals, a utilization of 85% to 90% is the highest that can be achieved without delay or running late. Increasing the variability of case duration decreases the utilization that can be achieved within these targets.