Are You Getting The Most Out Of Your Integrated Operating Room?

Maximum value. Patients expect it from providers, and providers expect it from their technology and infrastructure. And, on top of value, both want the best possible performance from their investments. 

As value-based care gains momentum for patients, healthcare providers are increasingly seeking more from the medical technology they pay a premium to install and maintain. This includes integrated operating rooms, which provide digitally superior care to standard rooms, but are capable of doing so much more. 

Redefining Operational Efficiency 

For all the advancement integrated operating rooms brought to surgery, operational efficiency concerns remain consistent: 

• Will our daily operations start on time? 

• Will staff be forced to stay late? 

• Are we maximizing use of our surgical rooms? 

If the answer to these questions is not an enthusiastic “Yes,” they lead to substandard patient experiences, overworked employees and decreased profits due to operational inefficiency. Integrated operating rooms are capable of addressing each of these issues with enhanced usage of data they are already collecting, but not all are. 

Software solutions such as Caresyntax’s vendor-neutral Connected Surgery, cut down on late starts and reduce forced overtime for hospital staff. When combined with Clinical Value Analysis capabilities, integrated operating rooms can collect new data points that give providers real-time insight, such as the optimal care plan for a patient or ideal pairings of surgical teams. This results in more than an increase in efficiency, it elevates what efficiency means for healthcare providers. 

Expedited Integration and Easier Adoption 

Intuitively, the benefits of constantly evolving medical technology should outweigh temporary reductions in efficiency. However, efficiency and quality often suffer through extended periods of integration and implementation, and the continual churn of training, onboarding, and process change sometimes creates more trouble than the intended benefit. 

Likewise, while onboarding nurses may be familiar with similar technology, time is still needed to integrate them onto new systems. And, the surgeon, may steer volume or exit entirely because their chosen toolsets do not integrate.  

Learning from this, future-proof integrated operating rooms should minimize the negative impact change by seamlessly incorporating medical advancements and technology in a condensed time frame, with effective onboarding and implementation support, to add value without compromising care quality.  

A novel, software-based approach to digital integration, Caresyntax’s Connected Surgery provides plug-and-play capabilities for all equipment in the operating room, with remote support that keeps healthcare providers up to date with the latest technology and allows for smooth implementation. During installation, avoiding the normal shutown of an OR to install new integration equipment, (limiting room capacity for nearly a week per room), Caresyntax’s software-based, zero-footprint installation can be completed in one day with minimal impact to operating room schedules. 

Improved Perioperative Care, Driven By Data 

The impact of integrated operating rooms should not be limited to the room, the building, or the day of the operation. State-of-the-art operating rooms are collecting continuous streams of patient data that can be put to better use. With surgical data integration, data points gathered during surgery can integrate with other data points to give providers the ability to: 

• Collaborate effectively across multiple teams 

• Improve case-planning effectiveness 

• Reduce post-surgery complications 

• Utilize surgical data throughout the care continuum 

The integrated operating room is one of the only forms of data collection on the day of operation. Its data, and programs like Clinical Value Analysis, should be used to guide value-based care for providers and improve outcomes for patients.  

Enhancement Does Not Mean Replacement 

The decision to invest in an integrated operating room is significant and has only grown year-over-year with the maintenance, staffing, and energy costs they require. Getting more from an existing room does not mean starting over. With the right strategy, and the right partner, integrated operating rooms can revolutionize intraoperative care, and improve pre- and postoperative care, for a fraction of the cost of the initial investment. Providing maximum value for providers and patient care.