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Costs and risks of weekend anesthesia staffing at 6 independently managed surgical suites.

We previously developed a statistical method that managers can use to assure that nurse anesthetists are on call on weekends for as few hours as possible while providing a specified level of care for operating room (OR) patients. The statistically derived staffing solutions are optimal, meaning that...

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Published in:AANA Journal Vol. 70; no. 5; pp. 377 - 382
Main Authors: Dexter F, Epstein RH, Marsh HM
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Oct2002
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Oct2002
      vid: 70
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      pub: American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
      place: Park Ridge, Illinois
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        atl: Costs and risks of weekend anesthesia staffing at 6 independently managed surgical suites.
      aug:
        au:
          Dexter F
          Epstein RH
          Marsh HM
        affil: Associate Professor and Director, Division of Management Consulting, Department of Anesthesia, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
      sug:
        subj:
          Personnel Staffing and Scheduling
          Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists
          Funding Source
          Operating Room Information Systems
          Operating Rooms Administration
          Cost Savings
          Data Analysis, Statistical
          Time Factors
          Human
      ab: We previously developed a statistical method that managers can use to assure that nurse anesthetists are on call on weekends for as few hours as possible while providing a specified level of care for operating room (OR) patients. The statistically derived staffing solutions are optimal, meaning that the total number of staffed hours is guaranteed to be as low as possible to achieve the specified risk of being unable to care for patients as promptly as they had in the recent past. We used the statistical method to review nurse anesthetist weekend staffing at 6 surgical suites that were part of a healthcare system with a cost-conscious management team. Four of the suites had already made staffing changes resulting in a greater than 6% risk of being understaffed. One suite had adequate current staffing but slightly exceeded the minimum total staffing hours. One suite had more anesthetist coverage than was needed, resulting in excess staffing costs greater than $200,000 per year. We conclude that the principal value of the statistical method may be in helping healthcare system administrators and anesthetists quantify the impact of contemplated reductions in staffing on their risk of understaffing and prologing patients' wait for OR care.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
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        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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