Iowa City-based University of Iowa researchers created four strategies to avoid intraoperative handoffs for ambulatory anesthesia, which are linked to adverse events and mortality.
The researchers' suggestions were based on data from an ASC and published by Dove Press:
1. Use statistical forecasts based on several months of historical data to determine optimal shift durations.
2. Consider assigning anesthesiologists who will work late to operating rooms that are expected to finish the earliest.
3. In the ORs with the latest scheduled end times, schedule cases with the shortest durations for last.
4. If a supervising anesthesiologist has to wrap up early for meetings or other administrative duties, assign that anesthesiologist to an OR finishing with shorter cases.