Our Operational Effectiveness Audit will provide you with the data and recommendations necessary to ensure proper focus of current and future resources. The audit covers all facets of Perioperative Services and will deliver a scorecard outlining levels of performance in each functional area. The scorecard will provide feedback on areas that are performing adequately, as well as areas offering potential for improvement.

Functions reviewed include: 

• Patient Scheduling
• Patient Flow
• Clinical Practices
• Resource Consumption / Patient Charge Capture
• Inventory Management
• Case Cart Process
• Equipment / Instrument Management
• Staff Education & Retention

In addition to the focused review, key business indicator reports will be provided based on hospital data. Reports include but are not limited to:

• Facility & OR Utilization
• Cost per Case Analysis
• Preference Card Utilization
• Case Start Time Effectiveness
• Turn Over Time Comparison
• Surgeon Case Length Comparison
• Supply Utilization
• Satisfaction Indicators

We work closely with your leadership team to understand the philosophy of your hospital/health system. The challenges of hospital mergers, competition for specific service line volumes, and expansion plans are commonplace in the industry. We will ensure that extensive research is performed to support those executive decisions. Additionally, we will identify key resource commitments necessary to accomplish strategic goals. Work plans will be organized outlining accountability, as well as a detailed understanding of the project's critical path and decision points. Metrics will be established that correlate with outcomes of the strategic endeavor. These measurements will provide valuable progress reports.

In a complex environment like the operating room, improving performance and maximizing capacity is an ongoing challenge. Our workflow redesign process is aimed at meeting these challenges by revealing meaningful opportunities. We examine workflow through a five-part progression:

Utilizing this process we are able to collect appropriate / measurable data, uncover hidden inefficiencies, and develop sustainable decisions based on your unique environment. 

Detailed data analysis and peer benchmarking is supported by our strategic partnership with the OR Benchmarks® Collaborative (ORBC).

The effectiveness of your patient scheduling and management process is directly correlated with the ability to optimize utilization of:

• Surgeon / Anesthesia / Nursing Time
• Operating Rooms
• Supplies / Equipment / Instrumentation Rooms

Effective patient scheduling practices will also assist in minimizing staff overtime and maintaining satisfaction among patients, surgeons, anesthesia, and nursing.

The ability to ensure all the necessary resources to perform a specific surgical procedure are available at a specific time requires guidelines that are well defined and enforced. Our approach offers insight into the aspects of your patient scheduling program that are challenging efficiency improvements. Key areas often include:

• Block Allocation & Management Policy
• Shared Resource Management & Conflict Checking
• Urgent / Emergent / Add On Case Management
• Scheduled Case Time Estimations / Algorithms
• Proactive Schedule Review
• Set Up / Clean Up Time Analysis
• Day of Surgery Schedule Management

Coratek is excited to be a strategic partner of the OR Benchmarks® Collaborative (ORBC). ORBC is an automated benchmarking service designed specifically for surgical services. Our partnership with ORBC is focused on delivering consultation for performance improvement in areas identified via your dashboard and / or analytical tools. All tailored solutions are backed by decades of consultant hands-on experience in perioperative services.

Coratek’s consulting team understands benchmark analytics and has the essential knowledge and skills needed to identify the root causes of performance variance. In addition, we are able to uncover hidden inefficiencies and determine the road map for sustainable improvement. Our benchmark strategy transforms insights to actionable solutions:

• Analyze and Interpret performance data
• Process observation and validation
• Incorporate key stakeholder input / perspective
• Formalize evidence-based solutions
• Prioritize improvement opportunities for maximum impact
• Develop an action plan
• Implement scalable solutions to improve outcomes and increase efficiencies

The ORBC dashboard and analytic tools are crucial components that enable clients to monitor improvement progress and to quantify results achieved.

We understand the challenges of balancing clinical demands with lean budgetary constraints.

Our assessment begins with an analysis to determine your current state - which will dictate your starting point for optimizing materials management in surgery.  Areas of review include:

• ­    Requisitioning process
• ­    Supply management resources
• ­    Case picking practices
• ­    Preference card content / accuracy
• ­    Completeness / accuracy of surgical item file
• ­    Supply management systems (Omnicell, Pyxis, etc.)
• ­    Level of integration / interfacing
• ­    Vendor / distributor relationships

• ­    Perpetual inventory
• ­    Reduction in obsolescence
• ­    Efficient requisitioning
• ­    Formalized reorder theory
• ­    Integrated seamless information systems
• ­    Sound process controls
• ­    Effective reporting

Determining the most effective method for documentation of patient charges can be a cumbersome process. To ensure effective management of costs and provide support for key strategic decision making, detailed costing remains crucial in the operating room, however, capped/fixed reimbursement has lessened the importance of maintaining line item detail for patient accounting.

We offer approaches that can minimize documentation of resources consumed without diminishing your cost accounting needs.

Our methods ensure that your costs are accurately reflected in established charges, and that audits are established to ensure accuracy in charge captured.

Based on past client success, we will be glad to discuss partnership options.

We are independent of any software provider and believe that all hospitals/health systems have unique needs and that all software providers have their strengths and weaknesses in functionality. Our goal in assisting with the selection of a new Perioperative Information System is to provide the structure and services that will enable you to objectively select the application that will best meet your current and future needs. Our approach ensures priorities and requirements, from key stakeholders and users, are weighted appropriately in evaluating vendor offerings.

Information system selection assistance includes:

• Establishing an objective selection process
• Organizing of the system selection team
• Documenting/Weighting functional requirements
• Formation of the Request for Proposal (RFP)
• Coordination of vendor demonstrations and site visits
• Facilitation of vendor of choice

Implementing perioperative information systems today requires much organization and resource allocation to truly maximize the potential of the application.

Planning for a system implementation requires a multidisciplinary team approach and should be considered prior to the project kick off.  Allocation of the appropriate dedicated resources will position your facility for a successful and on time project go-live.  While the implementation resource requirements will be driven by the project scope and expected outcomes, resources will likely include, but are not limited to:

• Project Manager
• System Administrator /  System Analyst
• Perioperative Services Management
• IT Technical Staff (Interfacing, Data Conversion, Networking, Database Administration)
• Clinical / Nurse Representatives
• Materials Management
• Data Entry

Other key input will be required by the following on an adhoc basis:

• Hospital Administration / Management
• Surgeon Representation
• Anesthesia Representation
• Risk Management
• Patient Accounting / Finance
• Central Strerile
• Other software vendors (for applications that will be included in integration)

We often assist facilities that are experiencing resource challenges in areas such as:

• Process Redesign
• Workplan Formation
• Project Management
• Staff Mentoring
• Education / Training
• Policy / Procedure Documentation
• Report Writing
• Go Live / Transition Assistance

Perioperative Information Systems now offer hospital administrators and managers almost unlimited reporting options. The challenge exists in understanding and obtaining information that you can correlate with hospital goals. Through our experiences in the industry, we have established tools to assist you in obtaining and organizing the specific data elements to calculate metrics that measure success in areas of utilization and procedural effectiveness. Correlating specific indicators with the philosophy and goals of your hospital will provide you with invaluable decision support.

The ability to encumber all the necessary resources to perform a specific surgical procedure efficiently requires guidelines that are well defined and enforced.

Migrating from another system or version of operating room management software can leave your data split into separate platforms or physical servers and inaccessible as a whole.  You do not have to lose the information you relied upon from your legacy system for reporting and ongoing trending.  

Our archiving services coupled with the tools provided by the OR Benchmarks® Collaborative (ORBC) allow you to access that data to benchmark internally and externally against historical information.  

This solution is ideal for:

• Server Consolidation (multiple hospitals merge to one server)
• Database platform changes (SQL to Oracle, etc.)
• Vendor Transition (Per Se to McKesson, etc.)
• Major Upgrades
• Re-Implementations

Don’t let software or hardware incompatibility limit your decision making.  Coratek can help make your information seamless by archiving and synchronizing appropriately.

• Preference Card Data Entry / Ongoing Maintenance
• Perioperative Case Scheduling
• Charging / Post Case Data Clerical duties
• Surgical Item File Data Entry
• Auditing

Retaining / Recruiting quality leaders and managers within Perioperative Services has never been more challenging. To assist hospitals in times when key members of the management team are void, we offer professionals with the essential skills to fill the following roles:

• OR Director / Manager
• Business Manager
• IS Coordinator
• Central Sterile Manager
• OR Materials Manager