An Efficiency Model for Decreasing Operative Room Turnover Time for Total Joint Arthroplasties.

Abstract

Objectives: Despite an increased demand for total joint arthroplasty (TJA), rising health-care costs and bundling of payments by payers have shifted the focus to improving operating room (OR) efficiency. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of an efficiency model that optimized instrument trays on decreasing OR turnover time (TOT) and the benefits made possible by this improved efficiency.

Methods: All primary TJA procedures performed by a single fellowship-trained surgeon from January 2022 to August 2023 were reviewed. The surgeon partnered with Zimmer Biomet to condense the total knee and total hip arthroplasty instrument trays from seven to three trays each. Patient in OR time and patient out of OR times were collected and used to calculate TOT. Mean TOTs pre-efficiency model implementation (January - October 2022) and post-efficiency model implementation (March - August 2023) were compared. Annual cost savings were calculated based on an average cost per one minute of OR time of $47.99 and an average cost for the Sterile Processing Department (SPD) to process a single TJA tray of $79.41.

Results: Following implementation of the efficiency model, the average OR TOT significantly decreased by 19 minutes (P < 0.0001), a greater than 44% reduction in TOT. At this surgeon's current case volume, conservatively estimated at 280 primary TJA cases per year, annual savings in OR and SPD processing costs were $169,597 and $88,939, respectively. Moreover, this led to increased case volume per operative day.

Conclusion: A small-scale intervention such as optimizing instrument trays for TJA is a valuable and sustainable solution to improve efficiency in the OR by decreasing OR TOT, thereby generating considerable cost-savings and opportunity to increase surgical volume.