Upcoming Webinars

Mastering The Art and Science of OR Scheduling: Challenges and Strategies

Thursday, September 28, 2023 |  1:00 PM ET  |  1 CE Credit
Brought to you by: LiveData

Surgery scheduling is the nucleus of the Operating Room and has always been a challenge. Historically, surgery schedulers and nurses have employed ledgers, Kardex systems, and a variety of other methods to combat the variability and simplify the process. The use of computers has assisted, but ORs are continually asked to meet the demands of surgeons, staff, and patients.

Join Aileen Killen, RN, PhD, CPPS, Director, Perioperative Operational Excellence and Jeff Oliver, Lt Col, Ret. Clinical Support Specialist to discuss the challenges of surgical scheduling and strategies that can be employed to mitigate those challenges. Using published literature and expert opinion, we will explore the difficulties and nuances of scheduling, block time, OR policies involving scheduling, surgical suite governance, and patient and staff satisfaction. 

By attending this webinar, the speakers will shed light on how to:

• Reduce the burden of common challenges with OR scheduling
• Empower your team with strategies that can be employed to optimize surgical scheduling
• Meet the demands of a robust OR scheduling software system

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Optimizing the Surgical Workflow: Strategies for Improved Patient Access and Surgeon Satisfaction

Thursday, August 17, 2023 |  1:00 PM ET  |  1 CE Credit
Brought to you by: LeanTaaS

Join Lee Health’s Vice President of Surgical Services to hear how integrated AI technology with a team of experts through their partnership with LeanTaaS rapidly transformed surgical operations following implementation systemwide.   This session will explore how AI-driven data insights is revolutionizing surgical workflow management and enabling healthcare organizations achieve remarkable outcomes.

Learning objectives

• Understand the challenges associated with surgical workflow optimization and potential direct impact to the patient experience and surgeon satisfaction.
• Explore innovative strategies to unlock OR access and enhance patient access to surgical services.
• Learn how predictive and prescriptive analytics transform surgical workflow and fosters collaboration among surgical teams.

Achieving Operational Excellence through Culture Transformation: Gundersen Health’s Journey with Predictive Analytics and OR Utilization

Thursday, June 22, 2023  |  1:00 PM ET  |  1 CE Credit
Brought to you by: LeanTaaS

Abstract: Amid staffing challenges faced throughout the health system in the first half of 2022, Gundersen’s perioperative department further experienced capacity constraints and lacked access to real-time visibility into key data to make actionable decisions.  To address these challenges,  the organization launched an AI-based solution to provide visible data and tools to right-size block allocation, repurpose unused time, and streamline the scheduling process.

Learning objectives

• Describe the specific operational issues that prevent effective surgical block utilization.
• Identify levers to release open time and improve availability.
• Understand the impact of visible, accurate, and accessible data on leaders, surgeons, and scheduler functions.

Need More Time? A Scheduler’s Guide to Surgeon Satisfaction

Tuesday, June 13, 2023  |  11:00 AM ET  |  1 CE Credit
Brought to you by: LiveData

Abstract:

In this webinar, we’ll discuss the importance of keeping surgeons satisfied from the hospital perspective, tips for how to do that, and innovative approaches that make scheduling easier for surgeons, schedulers, and patients.

Learning Objectives:

• Discover the five keys to surgeon satisfaction
• Identify the different requirements of employed and independent surgeons
• Understand the role of scheduling in surgeon satisfaction

Critical Components of Optimized OR Performance: Credible Data and an Effective Surgery Block Management System

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 | 1 CE Credit
Sponsored by LeanTaaS

Abstract:

Join The University of Kansas Health System’s (TUKHS) Senior Director of Business Operations, Perioperative and Procedural Services to learn about creating an Effective Block Management System and learn how TUKHS was able to, in less than a year’s time, achieve a 20% increase in block utilization, 5% increase in prime time utilization and facilitate 98% more manual releases/transfers of time before the auto-release deadlines.

Learning Objectives:

• Define the characteristics of an effective block management system.
• Identify ways to break through historical barriers and confidently make quicker block allocation decisions.
• Explain why, even after a significant EHR investment, hospitals still need to invest in data management systems, particularly for the operating room.

Culture of Safety: Sharps Safety

Tuesday, December 6, 2022 |  1 CE Credit
Sponsored in partnership by: Molnlycke

Abstract

Operating Room risk factors require education about and protection from sharp injuries as well as physical, chemical and biological insults. Evidence, professional recommendations and statistics outline these risks and offer solutions. Content will outline protocols and implementation suggestions.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the impact of occupational exposure on healthcare workers today
• Describe the ECRI method of product review
• Identify the benefits of Double Gloving in the OR

How to Rapidly Boost Your OR Utilization and Re-energize Staff: Allina Health’s Strategic Partnership Using AI & Automation

Wednesday, November 30, 2022 | 1 CE Credit
Sponsored in partnership by: Qventus

Abstract

As an OR leader, you’re facing overwhelming challenges due to staffing shortages, pent-up demand for OR time, and financial pressures. What new strategies can you use to rapidly optimize existing resources while simultaneously preventing burnout?

During this webinar, discover how Allina Health uses AI-powered automation software to simplify the OR scheduling process, re-energize staff and rapidly boost OR & block utilization. By automating manual OR processes, the health system rapidly increased OR access for surgeons, improved utilization, and grew strategic case volumes — delivering millions to the bottom line.

Learning Objectives:

• Add 2+ cases per OR per month and grow robotic cases by 50%
• Increase case volume by up to 10%
• Reduce manual work and boost staff satisfaction
• Create more predictability for staff schedules and decrease late-running cases

Perioperative Readiness to Optimize the Surgical Schedule

Thursday, November 10, 2022 | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Hospital IQ
Abstract

In this session, learn how perioperative readiness helps run your surgical day as planned, giving you enough time to proactively and economically address barriers and optimize OR operational efficiency.

Learning objectives 

• Learn how to automate surgical case planning to run cases more efficiently and run the surgical day as planned
• Anticipate and identify operational issues with staffing, equipment, supplies, case planning and patient readiness ahead of time
• Discover effective ways to streamline communication and overcome operational scheduling barriers

Lights, Camera, Action – for Performance Improvement

Thursday, October 27, 2022 | 1CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Caresyntax

Abstract

Ever walk into your OR and everything is suddenly perfect? Please join this session to learn how new AI enabled technology combined with analytics and surgical video can help you uncover root causes that create dysfunction and inefficiencies in your Operating Rooms. Let’s open up that black box (without the Hawthorne effect) to improve surgeon and staff satisfaction, as well as improve clinical outcomes such as SSI rates.

Learning Objectives

• Describe how analytical and video-based data can be used to improve performance and enhance teamwork.
• Describe how benchmarking can facilitate engagement for performance improvement.
• Participants will gain an understanding of technical skill and non-technical skill evaluation tools and their use.

Putting the Puzzle Together: A Holistic Approach to Perioperative Operations that Optimizes OR Capacity and Aligns Resources

Wednesday, September 28, 2022 | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Hospital IQ

When your ORs are not efficiently utilized, revenue is lost, patient and staff satisfaction declines, and resources are misallocated. However, optimizing capacity is a complex challenge:

• Block schedules intended to help with efficiency can unintentionally hinder OR scheduling, resulting in underutilization.
• You don’t have the information available to plan for cases and address barriers ahead of time.
• Cases that run longer than booked create delays. Those that run shorter result in missed opportunities for cases and revenue.
• Your perioperative staff schedule does not align with the upcoming case mix, leading to chaotic scrambles as you seek out the OR workforce you need to meet the planned day’s requirements.

In this session, learn how to take a holistic approach to managing the perioperative suite that will maximize efficiency, even with limited OR resources. Discover ways data and automated workflows can streamline operations and standardize case planning to create, find, and fill more OR time and maximize your surgical case volume based on available resources.

Resilience and Recovery Through Capacity Constraints, Staff Shortages, and Other Perioperative Challenges

Thursday, April 7, 2022 |  1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: HospitalIQ

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A Real-World View of Ureteroscope Reprocessing Effectiveness and What Has Happened Since the FDA Warning Letter in April 2021

Wednesday, January 12, 2022 |  1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Boston Scientific

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Sharp Safety in 2021 – Learn What You Can Do to Follow the Current Guidelines in Your OR

Wednesday, December 8, 2021 |  1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Mölnlycke 

This webinar will discuss sharps safety and help you learn current guidelines to implement in your OR.

• Identify the importance of double gloving for sharps safety.
• Discuss the ECRI method for reviewing OR products.
• Describe the location for the international safety center sharps database.

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Perioperative Nursing at the Breaking Point and How We Can Fix It

A Roundtable Discussion with Perioperative Executives from Five Leading US Health Systems

Tuesday, November 9, 2021 |  1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: MobileSmith Health

Decades before COVID-19, hospitals were struggling with how to effectively meet and manage standards of patient care. While the current pandemic has clearly introduced new burdens on nurses and nurse management, in many ways, the pandemic has severely amplified old issues and combined them with a new generation of challenges. Historically, nursing has been incredibly resilient; so much so that hospital leadership has unfairly relied upon nurses to weather any storm. Are we finally at the breaking point? If so, what can be done to move us in the right direction?

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Using Analytics to Drive Meaningful Clinical Change…From Actual Clinicians

Wednesday, October 6, 2021 | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Surgical Directions

The Nurse and Physician Leadership at Surgical Directions will discuss the functional and tactical role analytics plays in their daily management and decision making. Not all data are required all the time. Given the volume of information that abounds in the procedural services and perioperative arenas, knowing exactly what data to focus on and for which tasks and objectives can be overwhelming.

Moreover, having a peer-to-peer lens is crucial to driving behavioral change as well as adopting and understanding such change. As such, our clinical experts will outline the specific ways they work with their nursing and physician peers to leverage analytics and drive meaningful, measurable benefits into the operating room.

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How a Leading AMC Increased OR Utilization and Access with AI-powered Block Management

Wednesday, September 15, 2021 | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Qventus

Today, perioperative leaders face the challenge of improving access while simultaneously driving growth and balancing competing priorities from multiple stakeholders. The current process is highly manual and relies on the heroic efforts of OR teams to ensure that all these stakeholders are meshing seamlessly.

It’s time for a new approach!

Join us to hear why Tammy Jones, PhD, RN, NE-BC, Chief Perioperative Officer of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is prioritizing new innovations in automation and artificial intelligence to address perennial challenges of access, block management, and utilization in the OR.

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OR’s Juggling Act: Matching Supply of Anesthesia Coverage with Surgeon Demand for OR Time

Wednesday, August 18, 2021 | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: LeanTaaS

Matching supply and demand patterns is a critical requirement in OR Management. On the supply side there is the staff (the right staff with the right skills), the ORs, anesthesia coverage, and the equipment; on the demand side there is the procedure volume, mix of types of volume, timing, and expected duration.

How can today’s OR managers and leaders ensure that surgeons have optimal access, that the ORs have the right staff and anesthesia coverage and balancing that with staffing shortages, anesthesia shortages, increasing case volume and declining reimbursement. These challenges require greater efficiency than those delivered by shaving off a few minutes of turnover time and greater visibility into underutilized blocks and staffed room utilization.

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Patient Engagement: A Powerful ROI Strategy in ERAS and PSH Programs

Wednesday, July 28, 2021 | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Twistle

Educating and coaching patients both before and after surgery has been shown to reduce same-day cancellations, length of stay, postoperative complications and readmissions, and referrals to skilled nursing facilities. Organizations can realize significant revenue gains and cost reduction by using secure messaging protocols to engage patients in achieving good outcomes. Attend this webinar to learn how focusing on patient engagement can help improve return on investment (ROI). Clinicians from leading healthcare organizations will present case studies illustrating the patient engagement ROI associated with Enhanced Recovery After Surgery and Perioperative Surgical Home programs.

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Surviving a Surgical Glove Change

Wednesday, June 23, 2021 | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Mölnlycke

Changing glove manufacturers can be a daunting task because surgeons and staff tend to have strong preferences about particular brands. A well-planned conversion, however, can overcome biases and benefit the bottom line. In this webinar, you will gain insight into value analysis, how to evaluate direct and indirect costs associated with glove changes, the importance of staff education, and the elements of a successful vendor partnership.

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How to Reduce Your Operating Rooms Supply Cost by $1 Million and Increase Service Line Profitability by 15%

Thursday, June 10, 2021 | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: VIE Healthcare Consulting

There are several challenges facing OR Leaders in cost management and maintaining healthy margins for surgical lines. The relentless rise of non-labor hospital costs is expected to continue throughout 2024. We are seeing an unprecedented price creep for OR implants and supplies.
For many OR leaders, cost control is a strategic priority. The Operating Room accounts for up to 70% of a hospital’s revenue, between 55% to 65% of its margins and 50% of a hospital’s costs – which makes the OR a foundational part of the financial success of a hospital.

Since the financial improvements are in the details, we will show you exactly where to look to uncover those details with the greatest financial benefit to your Operating Room.

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Why the Health of Surgical Dictionaries Matters 

Thursday, May 27, 2021 |  1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Intelligent Medical Objects

Surgical scheduling dictionaries are foundational to managing operative care. Unfortunately, they’re not “set-it-and-forget it” tools – they are constantly evolving due to industry code set updates and the changing nature of healthcare. Without a dedicated dictionary maintenance team, terms can quickly fall out of date and put your organization at risk for inaccurate reporting, substandard reimbursements, and more.

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How Advanced Analytics Enhance the Usefulness of Your EMR

Wednesday, May 12, 2021 | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Surgical Directions

In this webinar, an expert panel will discuss the data needs of highly functional surgical services departments and the current shortcomings of electronic medical records (EMRs) in addressing those needs. You will learn how advanced analytics address EMR limitations and the benefits they provide for OR directors and their teams. Panelists will also suggest practices to get the most out of your data and explain how the data can be used to support planning and decision making

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Building a Data-Driving Management Culture and Leveraging Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 |  1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: LeanTaaS

Electronic health records (EHRs) have long been the source of information for decisions about how to allocate OR time, but EHRs lack the predictive and prescriptive capabilities that are needed to maximize OR utilization.

Learn how hospitals around the country are successfully moving toward a fair and transparent system for scheduling cases, and managing block and open time while maximizing staff, equipment, and capital utilization. The results are impressive: $500K per OR per year improvement in revenue, 6%point+ increase in prime-time utilization, growth of surgical market share, increased surgeon, staff, and patient satisfaction.

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Using AI for Dynamic Block Management

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Hospital IQ

Traditional approaches for managing perioperative block allocation are rigid and often lead to underutilized ORs and unsatisfied surgeons. For multiple reasons, including manual processes, a lack of trusted data, limited visibility of available OR time, and more, OR utilization is effectively capped with these methods.
In this webinar, learn how artificial intelligence and automated workflows can help organizations dynamically manage blocks and take their perioperative performance to the next level.

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Leadership, Policy, and Transparency: Driving Sustainable Value, Efficiency, and Surgeon Utilization

Wednesday, December 3, 2020 | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: LeanTaaS

Managing ORs is hard, especially without access to reliable and readily available data. EHRs that are built to capture information about patients and their care do not provide the level of data visibility or reliability needed to make daily as well as strategic decisions about expensive healthcare assets such as ORs. Ensuring surgeons have optimal access, knowing exactly where and how to drive efficiency, and delivering value to surgeons, patients, and staff are constant challenges. These challenges require greater visibility into available OR time and key performance indicators.

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Reclaim Your Most Valuable Asset: Converting Unused OR Time into More Cases

Wednesday, November 11, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Surgical Directions

Operating rooms grapple with time lost due to late starts, lengthy turnovers, underutilized blocks, unused blocks, and more. At the same time, many surgeons are clamoring for increased access to handle more cases.

In this free webinar, Surgical Directions will present how to reclaim lost and wasted time that is holding back your OR. We will discuss how waste happens, how to measure it, and, critically, how to organize for success to convert the lost time into additional cases for your facility. With over 25 years of experience working at hundreds of hospitals and ASCs, the Surgical Directions team has the expertise to discuss ways to improve your financial performance and patient experience.

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Surgical Hands: A Chemical Battlefield in the OR

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 | 12:00  – 1:00 p.m. | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Molnlycke Biogel

Occupational contact dermatitis, an inflammatory skin condition that occurs due to workplace exposure, can have long-term consequences, causing some healthcare workers to miss work and even change jobs. Nurses working in surgical wards and intensive care units are at the highest risk among healthcare workers.

Surgical gloves are a common culprit of both irritant and allergic contact dermatitis in the healthcare setting. Glove-associated irritants include wet work, friction, air occlusion, excessive sweating, and poor hand hygiene. In addition, wearers may incur allergic contact dermatitis to chemical additives, especially accelerators that are added to speed up the manufacturing process, in both latex and synthetic gloves.

This free webinar will help you understand treatment and prevention measures relative to Occupational Contact Dermatitis, including switching to gloves that have been manufactured without chemicals accelerators known to cause contact dermatitis.

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OR Infection Prevention in the COVID Era: A Focus on Urology and Ureteroscope Reprocessing 

Wednesday, September 16, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | 1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Boston Scientific & Ofstead & Associates

In today’s ever-changing COVID environment, you and your surgical team may have questions and concerns. Please join us for a discussion on infection prevention strategies with special focus given to urology and ureteroscope reprocessing practices. Presenter Cori Ofstead, a global infection prevention thought leader, will share her insights on COVID in urine, scope reprocessing effectiveness and risk of infection transmission in urology, and recommendations for minimizing risk to protect patients and staff alike. Key discussion points during this moderated webinar will include recent findings on ureteroscope reprocessing effectiveness and how to better manage this during COVID and beyond.

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Lean and Patient Safety: The Perfect Perioperative Partners

Wednesday, July 29, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | 1 CE
Presented in partnership by: OPS

Unprecedented times present unique opportunities. We all know how the pandemic has disrupted perioperative and elective services. The pandemic is challenging us, but it has also presented us with an opportunity to evaluate many processes during the re-start of surgical service lines. As you re-deploy you will find many opportunities for improvement. You have the ability with the right approach to improve quality, staff and surgeon satisfaction, patient satisfaction, flow, and expense.

How do you take advantage of this moment in time to identify the challenges that have plagued your OR for years, create logical plans, and finally implement solutions that work? During this free webinar, we will share Lean tools and methodologies that can help you attain a future state that is better than the pre-pandemic normal. You will learn straightforward Lean practices, tips, and tools that can help you improve perioperative services for the benefit of all. Discussion will also include case study examples of how Lean thinking can work to improve the effectiveness of your OR, every day, for everyone.

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How OR Managers Can Save Capital Dollars with an Equipment-Sharing Initiative Post COVID-19

Wednesday, June 10, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. |1 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Cohealo

As hospitals resume their elective case schedule post COVID-19, there will be significant demand for capital equipment. Not only will case volume be higher in operating rooms, but also extended into more sites of care such as medical office buildings, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), and specialty clinics. At the same time, healthcare leaders know that returning their organization to financial health means doing more with less, with fewer capital dollars available for new equipment purchases.

Join speakers Todd Rothenhaus, MD, and Brett Reed for this free webinar to learn about a step-by-step approach for implementing a program to share equipment between hospitals, an entirely new way to save that maximizes equipment utilization, eliminates rental fees, and reduces capital expenses. As elective surgeries are rescheduled, explore how an equipment-sharing program can help expand service lines into new sites of care—without the corresponding capital costs—and address new requests for equipment.

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Restoring Your Elective Surgery Caseload Post COVID-19

Wednesday, May 6, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Sponsored in partnership by: LeanTaaS

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, most hospitals are cancelling or postponing elective surgeries. Addressing the large backlog to restore elective surgery caseload is a top post-pandemic priority of OR leaders. This will require careful planning and execution in the coming weeks and months to identify the backlog, manage block versus open time, open more time to perform more cases, and accommodate the pent-up volume given each hospital’s available resources (rooms, staffing, locations).

Join us for this free webinar as industry experts provide a set of tools and a step-by-step approach as part of a model for successfully managing and restoring elective surgery caseload. Attendees will learn how to access the model for use at their institutions and be able to ask questions following the presentation.

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The Road to Recovery: OR Management After the COVID-10 Crisis

Wednesday, April 29, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | 0 CE
Sponsored in partnership by: Surgical Directions

The case volume and operational disruptions from the COVID-19 crisis will very likely have an enduring impact on hospital operating room management. Picking up the pieces and positioning the OR for successful recovery will be a significant challenge. This webinar outlines the steps necessary to recover as much case volume as possible, including how to handle changes in daily operations, and proactive management of patients for the elective surgical recovery period. We will also discuss the critical need for partnership with physicians and patients to keep communication lines open.

Join this free webinar to review effective strategies for helping your OR in the wake of COVID-19. We will share suggested practices and tools that can help your surgical department recover while running effectively and efficiently. Please note that there will be no CEs offered for this webinar.

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