Surgical Data Integration vs. Operating Room Integration

Integrated operating rooms have reshaped surgery in the past decade, providing amongst other benefits, enhanced communication, shortened surgical times, reduced patient cancellations, real-time access to patient information and advanced imaging, as well as maximum use of operating rooms. These advancements have improved operational efficiency for surgical providers and positively impacted patient outcomes. Quality of care and training have been upgraded with the assistance of high-quality video routing which is standard in so many operating rooms now. The measured cost-benefit for providers ​is compelling​: reducing procedure time by 10-15%, reducing surgical errors, and increasing case volume. 

The Patient’s Perspective 

The patient’s surgical experience is noticeably improved by these technological advancements as well, either directly through efficient scheduling that reduces waiting times, or indirectly, from the reduced risk and decrease in post-operative complications that video integration has the potential to provide. But by and large patient benefits, though meaningful, are short term; limited primarily to time spent in or around the operating room. With a modernized use of available data, there is no reason patient benefits must end there. 

Data: The Key To Making A Long-Term Impact 

In the modern healthcare ecosystem, data is everything—and there is no shortage of it. Data points are constantly being collected throughout the surgical continuum, such as:  

• Electronic medical records. 

• Pre-operative consultation findings. 

• Pre- and post-operative vital signs. 

• Surgical instrument usage and patterns. 

• Video and imaging data. 

• Anesthesia risk data. 

• Diagnostic test results. 

• Medication usage.  

• Medical device data. 

• Follow-up appointments. 

A typical integrated operating room can gather much of this data, but its capabilities are best suited for real-time insights. Its impact on a patient’s comprehensive health is limited as pre- and post-operative records are often siloed and unincorporated. The next generation of surgical data integration makes use of all data and video to provide meaningful, long-term change to patient care. 

Surgical Integration Extends The Continuum Of Care 

Surgical integration evolves operating room integration by aggregating data collected before, during, and after the surgical process, and by providing meaningful insights for care providers and patients whenever it is needed. Data is filtered in real-time to enhance a provider’s capability to: 

• Increase operating room efficiency: Optimize OR scheduling to ensure on-time case completion, leading to increased surgical volume, reduced patient wait times, and improved staff satisfaction. Ensure the surgical team has the necessary skills and real-time access to critical patient information, enabling them to make informed decisions throughout the surgical process.

• Optimize real-time performance: Provide surgeons and OR leaders with real-time, adaptive information to optimize surgical quality, OR utilization, and ensure a constant system of improvement and efficiency. 

• Collaborate across teams: Facilitate collaboration between surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other healthcare providers through a comprehensive data platform. 

• Enhance case-planning: Determine the tools, surgical approach, anesthesia plan, and the right team is in place before each operation. 

• Provide insight post-surgery: Access unparalleled data analytics to highlight factors that may lead to complications, such as surgical site infection or hematoma risk, and highlight areas for improvement in surgical technique or workflow issues like room turnover. 

• Improve patient outcomes beyond the operating room: Leverage state of the art surgical data integration to capture data throughout the care continuum, driving beyond simple cost reduction, to drive toward true value-based outcomes for patients, hospitals, and the entire healthcare system.  

With surgical data integration, care providers have the data to reduce variability for patients, create enhanced decision-making for their medical personnel, and improve outcomes for all involved. 

Make Surgical Data Integration Your Standard Of Care 

Utilizing a vendor-neutral, enterprise-scale platform enables providers to make data-supported decisions at all points on the care continuum. Comprehensive patient data should be aggregated, integrated, and consolidated for the benefit of providers before, during, and after surgery. Predictive analytics can be utilized to manage patient risk proactively, and highlight key risk factors that inform follow-up and rehabilitation plans, ensuring targeted postoperative car​​e.  

Take the next step in data integration and optimize your future capability to care by utilizing all the advantages surgical data can provide.