“You can’t fix what you don’t know.”
That’s the clear assessment of Danielle Styve BSN, RN, a former Veterans Affairs nurse and currently a Clinical Systems Analyst with longstanding VA partner DSS Inc. Stale data on procedure cancellations and operating room utilization offers a static retrospective report – a look back at something leadership can’t fix.
To decrease surgical cancellation rates, fresh data and usable interfaces can make all the difference. LiveData PeriOp Manager offers OR managers and hospital leaders the solutions they need to continuously improve – automating workflows and analytics for real, measurable change in the VA and other health systems.
Fresh data drives improvement
The evidence is in: DSS clinical consultants gathered years of raw data on surgical cancellations, comparing the numbers before and after the implementation of LiveData PeriOp Manager. There is a bright-line distinction, with dramatic improvements sustained across multiple sites.
On average across dozens of medical centers, LiveData decreased surgical case cancellations by nearly half, a full 48% – between 14 and 81%. In fact, one midwestern VA medical center saw surgery cancellations reduced by a rate of 81%.
Improved case scheduling accuracy, and using actionable data to pinpoint the reasons for cancellations, have led to continuous optimization of block utilization.
User-friendly scheduling interfaces, digital preop workups, and seamless case schedule requests have also de-incentivized untrackable paperwork.
Overcoming EHR hindrances, LiveData is the secret behind the VA’s staggering improvement in surgical efficiency, with the added benefits that brings to staff, patient, and surgeon satisfaction.
“PeriOp Planner is instrumental for our VA sites,” Styve said.
LiveData PeriOp Manager operating room scheduling software uncovers hidden opportunities to smartly schedule cases and increase veteran access through block optimization – without a heavy IT lift from users in any health system.
Cases are requested, added to the schedule board, and completed as scheduled. First case on-time starts and turnover time metrics affected by OR utilization reflect the ability to address scheduling breakdowns before they happen. Prior to implementing LiveData PeriOp Planner, those same bottlenecks could wreak havoc before leadership even knew they were happening.
“We can drill down in our analytics and see where the high percentage of cancellations are coming from, and then ensure that these pain points are being addressed prior to the cases ever being scheduled,” Styve said.
Leveraging technology for visibility, efficiency, and communication
PeriOp Manager’s functionality is instrumental in decreasing cancellation rates, according to Styve, especially since analytics are tracked and reported in real-time. Leadership can react and make improvements where needed, meeting and even exceeding expectations for leadership, staff, patients, and VA National Surgery Office monitors.
Because LiveData PeriOp Manager is highly customizable, its implementation is seamless. It integrates with commercial EHRs like Oracle Health to enhance and optimize workflows, identifying opportunities to maximize utilization and stop cancellations before they start.
“From my experience as an OR nurse at the VA and doing scheduling, I was begging for a more modern scheduling software to make our process more efficient. VistA is a powerhouse, but PeriOp Manager makes it so much better,” Styve said. “This system is so robust – The efficiency it offers is huge, from being able to focus more on our day-to-day functionality, our patient care, all of those elements. This provides the visibility, the efficiency, the communication. It’s 100 phone calls back and forth versus ‘I'm not getting phone calls anymore, because all we have to do is look at LiveData.”
“One Chief of Surgery pushed the point: ‘I missed my window to make improvements on an issue that started four to six months ago, while waiting to get my NSO quarterly report. Now, I’ve lost all this time and I continue to have the issue,’” Styve said. “When I go into my LiveData analytics, I can see last week. Really, I can see yesterday, but I know from an improvement standpoint, I can look at last week and improve it for the following week, versus looking at four to six months ago and then trying to implement change. The longer the issue exists, the harder it is to fix.”
By reducing surgical cancellations by an average of 48% – and with workflows continuously improving – LiveData’s impact is seen in greater efficiency and better outcomes for all VA stakeholders and our Veterans.
The editorial staff had no role in this post's creation.