Importance: Operating room (OR) turnaround times (TATs) and on-time first-case starts (FCSs) are commonly used measures of OR efficiency. Prolonged TATs and late FCSs occur frequently at academic medical centers.
Objective: To test the hypothesis that establishing a financial incentive program (FIP) for OR teams would improve efficiency, leading to decreased TATs and improved on-time FCSs.
Design, setting, and participants: Prospective study to evaluate the effect of an FIP on OR efficiency between March 1, 2013, and December 31, 2013, at a freestanding academic trauma hospital. Participants were all OR team members and included anesthesiologists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurses, and technicians.
Interventions: Operating room efficiency awareness education was conducted before FIP implementation beginning in February 2013. Each eligible OR team member achieving a TAT of 60 minutes or less or an on-time FCS was awarded 1 point. Reports listing individual performances were posted. Pay bonuses were awarded for achieving 1 of 3 progressive point totals in any month.
Main outcomes and measures: Outcomeswere TAT, whichwas defined as “wheels out” to “wheels in,” and on-time FCS, which was defined as “wheels in” within 6 minutes of the scheduled start time.
Results: Before FIP implementation, the mean TAT varied between 77 and 83 minutes, with only 18%to 26%of TATs being 60 minutes or less; on-time FCSs averaged 29% to 34%. After FIP implementation, on-time FCSs improved from 31% to 64%(P < .001), and TATs of 60 minutes or less increased from 24%to 52%(P < .001). The cost of a 2-month FIP was $8340. We saved 13 minutes per TAT, for an estimated savings of $177 000.We estimate an additional savings of $33 000 for on-time FCSs, for a total hospital savings of $210 000.
Conclusions and relevance: A novel FIP improved OR efficiency. Given the small amount of money involved, it seems unlikely that financial incentives were solely responsible. Effectively communicating the importance of TATs and on-time FCSs and publishing individual results more likely increased staff awareness. Teamwork created by linking assignment of points to a team result likely contributed to success.