Exploratory Case Study of the Operating Room

Abstract

The author conducted an exploratory case study on the operating room (OR) at Silas B Hays Army Community Hospital (SBHACH) to provide more objective data to the hospital executive staff and to aid them in making decisions regarding the OR. The author collected data using three methods: surveying OR staff, observing activities in the OR and attending the OR Quality Improvement Process Action Team (QI PAT) meetings. The OR QI PAT was an interdisciplinary team which met to identify and solve problems in the OR. The study highlighted the major problems in the OR: OR surgical scheduling, equipment maintenance and repair, adequate staffing and surgical delays. The study supported use of interdisciplinary QI PATs for information gathering and problem solving, but pointed to a limitation of the QI PAT, namely the reluctance of personnel to speak openly about some of the problems because of the lack of anonymity. The survey provided anonymity to the respondents who commented more openly on the issues. The study emphasized the value of automation to some of the processes in the OR.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1993
Accession Number
ADA278802

Entities

People

  • Margaret S. Tosi

Organizations

  • Academy of Health Sciences

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Automation
  • Case Studies
  • Databases
  • Executives
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Hospitals
  • Literature Surveys
  • Maintenance
  • Management Personnel
  • Materials
  • Medical Personnel
  • Personnel Management
  • Physicians
  • Scheduling (Production)
  • X Rays

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Medical or Health Care Field.
  • Organizational Process Management (OPM).