Impact of Surgical Table Orientation on Flow Disruptions and Movement Patterns during Pediatric Outpatient Surgeries

Anjali Joseph, David Neyens, Sahar Mihandoust, Kevin Taaffe, David Allison, Vishnunarayan Prabhu and Scott Reeves
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Anjali Joseph: Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing, School of Architecture, College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
David Neyens: Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Sahar Mihandoust: Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing, School of Architecture, College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Kevin Taaffe: Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
David Allison: Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing, School of Architecture, College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Vishnunarayan Prabhu: Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Scott Reeves: Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: (1) Background: The surgical table within a typical ambulatory surgery operating room is frequently rotated and placed in different orientations to facilitate surgery or in response to surgeon preferences. However, different surgical table orientations can impact access to different work zones, areas and equipment in the OR, potentially impacting workflow of surgical team members and creating patient safety risks; (2) Methods: This quantitative observational study used a convenience sample of 38 video recordings of the intraoperative phase of pediatric outpatient surgeries to study the impacts of surgical table orientation on flow disruptions (FDs), number of contacts between team members and distance traveled; (3) Results: This study found that the orientation of the surgical table significantly influenced staff workflow and movement in the OR with an angled surgical table orientation being least disruptive to surgical work. The anesthesia provider, scrub nurse and circulating nurse experienced more FDs compared to the surgeon; (4) Conclusions: The orientation of the surgical table matters, and clinicians and architects must consider different design and operational strategies to support optimal table orientation in the OR.

Keywords: operating room; surgical table; flow disruptions; layout; movement; pediatric surgery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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