GE helps cancer center increase OR capacity

A partnership between the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and GE Healthcare has enabled the facility to add capacity for new operating room (OR) procedures.

GE said it reconfigured the surgical block schedule and improved OR processes for Moffitt so it could use its existing facility and staff resources more effectively. The result was that Moffitt was able to add predictability to its scheduling, which enabled it to increase room turnover. It was able to add capacity for 900 new cancer patients, without adding more ORs or hours.

According to the company, its Block Optimizer technology enabled Moffitt to find this hidden capacity by creating a surgical block schedule. In June, for example, Moffit was able to increase its OR utilization rate from 69 percent to 79 percent.

According to Braulio Vicente, Moffitt’s senior vice president and chief operating officer, freeing up that amount of capacity will allow Moffitt to achieve an increase of 12 percent in procedural volume—which represents $8 million in incremental margin. Vicente also said the added efficiencies will allow the center to decrease staff overtime, accounting for another $100,000 savings a year.

Michael Bassett,

Contributor

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