Long surgery durations can lead to delays, cancellations, poor patient experiences, postoperative complications, and a waste of healthcare resources. A new study has revealed that a better-designed operating room (OR) can reduce surgery time, leading to improved outcomes and reduced costs. The researchers believe these findings can be used to optimize OR spaces, ultimately improving patient outcomes through shorter surgeries while also enhancing hospital efficiency.

Researchers at the University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS, USA) conducted the first-ever study to directly link OR design with the duration of knee- and hip-replacement surgeries. In this study, 70 knee- and hip-replacement surgeries were observed in real-time, with the same surgical teams performing the procedures in two differently sized and arranged ORs at a hospital. The larger, better-designed OR had significantly shorter average surgery times and fewer disruptive interactions, such as collisions between personnel and equipment, which can slow down procedures.

According to the study, shaving five to six minutes off an 80- to 100-minute surgery, as was observed in the better-designed OR, could translate to savings of up to two hours of staffing time per day. These savings are valuable to healthcare organizations, particularly those facing high labor costs. In addition to financial savings, shorter surgeries offer benefits to patients, such as improved infection prevention, reduced waiting times, and faster recovery. The researchers also believe that continued optimization of OR design could yield even greater benefits.

While previous studies have examined how space design impacts surgical disruptions, they did not account for factors such as surgery type or the speed of individual surgeons. This study is the first to demonstrate that environmental design can actually reduce the duration of a surgical procedure. The research team now plans to explore further improvements in OR design to enhance surgical efficiency and reduce operating times even more. The findings were published in Health Environments Research & Design.

“The breakthrough for my study is that it is the first to link the built environment of ORs to surgery duration,” said Xiaobo Quan, associate professor at the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design, who led the study. “Naturally, if we experience more disruptions to our surgery process, we will have a longer surgery. But there are no previous research studies looking at that. My study was the first one to make the connection directly.” 

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