Academic Center Tiered Operating Room Strategy (ACTION): Comparing a High Efficiency OR to the Conventional OR
Abstract
Canadian healthcare system is under immense economic pressure. In an attempt to resolve the problem, outpatient surgical services were offered to patients presenting with orthopaedic surgical complaints. An observational cohort study was carried out, comparing the conventional surgical setup to the newly designed high-efficiency setup that provided similar care, with a significantly lower operating cost. A total of 200 patients were enrolled in the study. Standardized and unstandardized questionnaires were used to evaluate pre-operative and post-operative patient data that reflected quality of life outcomes. Data was collected at enrolment and during post-operative follow-ups of up to 6 months. Results indicate that the equivalent patient outcomes were successfully achieved between the two patient groups; significant reduction in the cost of orthopaedic surgical services was obtained in high-efficiency surgical setup.