ArticleBMC health services research2015
How many operating rooms are needed to manage non-elective surgical cases? A Monte Carlo simulation study.
Article in BMC health services research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- A Monte Carlo Simulation Approach to Optimizing Capacity in a High-Volume Congenital Heart Pediatric Surgical Center.Frontiers in health services · 2021Article
- Variation in surgical demand and time to hip fracture repair: a Canadian database study.BMC health services research · 2020Article
- OR Management and Metrics: How It All Fits Together for the Healthcare System.Journal of medical systems · 2019Review
- A discrete event simulation approach for reserving capacity for emergency patients in the radiology department.BMC health services research · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPatients often wait to have urgent or emergency surgery. The number of operating rooms (ORs) needed to minimize waiting time while optimizing resources can be determined using queuing theory and computer simulation. We developed a computer program using Monte Carlo simulation to determine the number of ORs needed to minimize patient wait times while optimizing resources.
methodsWe used patient arrival data and surgical procedure length from our institution, a tertiary-care academic medical center that serves a large diverse population. With ~4800 patients/year requiring non-elective surgery, and mean procedure length 185 min (median 150 min) we determined the number of ORs needed during the day and evening (0600-2200) and during the night (2200-0600) that resulted in acceptable wait times.
resultsSimulation of 4 ORs at day/evening and 3 ORs at night resulted in median wait time = 0 min (mean = 19 min) for emergency cases requiring surgery within 2 h, with wait time at the 95th percentile = 109 min. Median wait time for urgent cases needing surgery within 8-12 h was 34 min (mean = 136 min), with wait time at the 95th percentile = 474 min. The effect of changes in surgical length and volume on wait times was determined with sensitivity analysis.
conclusionsMonte Carlo simulation can guide decisions on how to balance resources for elective and non-elective surgical procedures.
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