Improving Procedure Start Times and Decreasing Delays in Interventional Radiology: A Department's Quality Improvement Initiative.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To identify and reduce reasons for delays in procedure start times, particularly the first cases of the day, within the interventional radiology (IR) divisions of the Department of Radiology using principles of continuous quality improvement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An interdisciplinary team representative of the IR and preprocedure/postprocedure care area (PPCA) health care personnel, managers, and data analysts was formed. A standardized form was used to document both inpatient and outpatient progress through the PPCA and IR workflow in six rooms and to document reasons for delays. Data generated were used to identify key problems areas, implement improvement interventions, and monitor their effects. Project duration was 6 months. RESULTS: The average number of on-time starts for the first case of the day increased from 23% to 56% (P value < .01). The average number of on-time, scheduled outpatients increased from 30% to 45% (P value < .01). Patient wait time to arrive at treatment room once they were ready for their procedure was reduced on average by 10 minutes (P value < .01). Patient care delay duration per 100 patients was reduced from 30.3 to 21.6 hours (29% reduction). Number of patient care delays per 100 patients was reduced from 46.6 to 40.1 (17% reduction). Top reasons for delay included waiting for consent (26% of delays duration) and laboratory tests (12%). CONCLUSIONS: Many complex factors contribute to procedure start time delays within an IR practice. A data-driven and patient-centered, interdisciplinary team approach was effective in reducing delays in IR.

Causas que inciden en cancelación de cirugías desde la percepción del personal de salud / Causes which yield to surgery call-offs from the perspective of the health staff

Introducción: La calidad en la atención en los servicios hospitalarios depende de múltiples factores, cada proceso que se ejecuta para el cumplimiento del cuidado, debe ser indicador de atención. La cancelación de cirugías es uno los indicadores que revelan las dificultades que se pueden estar presentando en los centros sanitarios. Objetivo: Identificar desde la percepción de los profesionales de salud, los factores que inciden en la cancelación de cirugías en un hospital de alta complejidad. Métodos: El diseño del estudio fue descriptivo transversal, la muestra estuvo conformada por 30 sujetos: 15 enfermeras y 15 médicos, de los cuales 3 médicos y 2 enfermeras decidieron voluntariamente no participar en el estudio. Los investigadores recogieron la información a través de un cuestionario de preguntas abiertas y cerradas; tomando como referencia la lista de chequeo de "cirugía segura", los datos se analizaron en EPI-INFOTM versión 18. Conclusión: Se identificó que los profesionales de la salud perciben una escasa gestión administrativa para cumplir con todos los procedimientos quirúrgicos que se deben realizar, lo cual repercute de forma negativa en el paciente y su familia, además de los altos costos a nivel institución que esto implica.

Introduction: Quality in hospital health services depend on multiple factors. Therefore, each process related to the accomplishment of care should be an indicator of the attention level. Surgery call-offs is one of the indicators revealing difficulties which health settings might be having. Objective: The objective of this study was to identify, from the perspective of health professionals, those factors which yield to surgery call-offs in a highly complex hospital. Methods: The study design was basic and descriptive with a sample of 30 subjects: 15 nurses and 15 doctors, from which 2 nurses and 3 doctors ultimately decided not to participate. The researchers gathered the data through a questionnaire with open and close questions, having as a reference the "Safe Surgery" check list. These data were analyzed using the EPI-INFOTM version 18 software. Results: The most relevant findings were: 44% of the surgery call-offs motives were considered administrative, while 28% were attributed to assistance causes. Conclusion: As a conclusion, it was identified that health professionals perceive a low grade administration management to accomplish all the surgical procedures which should be performed, thus, negatively affecting the patients and their families, and generating impacts on the institutional costs.