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Dedicated Saturday orthopedic trauma OR linked with cost savings, reduced length of stay
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Implementation of a dedicated Saturday orthopedic trauma OR significantly reduced length of stay and resulted in a direct cost savings of $1.13 million per year, according to results.
In their retrospective chart review, researchers compared outcomes of 239 patients treated for femoral or tibial shaft fractures prior to the implementation of a new policy that included a “dedicated Saturday orthopedic operating room to provide more continuous care for patients” with the outcomes of 216 patients treated for the same fractures after implementation of this policy.
Robert Runner
Results showed a significantly reduced overall length of stay from an average of 14 days to 11.3 days, with the most significant reductions seen in the subset of patients admitted on a Monday or Wednesday. Researchers noted a trend toward an increase in the number of cases performed on Saturdays and a trend toward significance for a reduction on cases performed on Monday. The overall comparison between caseload distribution pre-policy and post-policy showed a more balanced workload and a trend toward even distribution.
According to results, the waiting time to surgery for patients who presented on Friday had a trend toward reduction with a 25.1-hour reduced waiting time, on average. One year after the policy change, researchers saw a reduction in mean injury severity score from 12.1 to 10.6. Researchers also noted an estimated $1,231,200 per year was saved for 228 operative femur and tibia fractures, with a net $1.13 million per year saved with the policy change. – by Casey Tingle
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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