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- Location: Arizona
- Type: Regional IDN
- Facilities: 33
- EHR: Cerner
Discover how AI Surgical Scheduling Software Enabled Banner Health to Optimize OR Utilization
Qventus automations helped us identify where OR time was going unused... Their technology has improved our efficiencies, allowing us to predict and meet the evolving needs of our patients seeking timely, compassionate care. Nirav Patel, MD, FACS, Physician Executive, Surgical Specialties
The Challenge
Banner Health was focused on maximizing OR utilization in order to continue delivering world-class care while accommodating increased demand in services. More patients were seeking care, and even though OR utilization was not near its peak, it was difficult to find available OR time. Manual scheduling processes and significant amounts of unused block time that was not being released added to the challenge.
Banner was looking for a technology solution that would solve these challenges. The solution needed to integrate with its EHR, Cerner, demonstrate clear ROI and ongoing value, scale with the growing needs of the health system, and be flexible enough to be implemented at various facilities with different processes.
The results after the first six months have far exceeded our expectations. The solution has increased access to the OR and streamlined the process of block management. The OR teams can schedule cases real-time, rather than be put on a list and wait for confirmation on availability. Nicole Fiore, Senior Director, Division Operations, Surgical Services Banner Health
The Qventus Solution
The Qventus Perioperative Solution automates every step of the scheduling process and eliminates the manual steps that cause scheduling bottlenecks and mismatches. The AI-powered software combines pattern recognition and predictive capabilities with principles of behavioral science to address all of Allina’s most serious scheduling problems:
Simplifying surgical scheduling. Qventus’ digital booking interface, TimeFinder, enables schedulers to easily find open time slots. The software determines the best-fit slots for any given case — factoring in things like day of week, time, the type of room and any special equipment needed, duration of procedure, and more — and offers a list of available slots that most closely fit the criteria. The clinic scheduler can book the time and submit the case request information with just a few clicks.
Improving block time utilization. Machine learning algorithms learn from a surgeon’s historical practice patterns and use that data to predict, up to a month in advance, time within each surgeon’s block that is unlikely to be used. When the system identifies a slot with a significantly high probability of going unused, it sends an automated “nudge” to the surgeon’s scheduler, requesting a release of the slot. To incentivize the release, the nudge includes a calculation of how much the release will improve the surgeon’s block utilization rate.
Proactively filling unused slots. Under a manual process, unused slots are often filled with the first available procedure, rather than the most appropriate one. The Qventus Perioperative Solution’s Available Time Outreach functionality analyzes the characteristics of available slots and matches them with surgeons’ predicted needs, and then offers the best-fit slots via email to the surgeon who’s most likely to use it and who also represents the highest value to Allina Health. The scheduler can accept or decline with a few clicks. If they decline, the system automatically moves to the next most likely candidate.
Simplifying surgical scheduling. Qventus’ digital booking interface, TimeFinder, enables schedulers to easily find open time slots. The software determines the best-fit slots for any given case — factoring in things like day of week, time, the type of room and any special equipment needed, duration of procedure, and more — and offers a list of available slots that most closely fit the criteria. The clinic scheduler can book the time and submit the case request information with just a few clicks.
Improving block time utilization. Machine learning algorithms learn from a surgeon’s historical practice patterns and use that data to predict, up to a month in advance, time within each surgeon’s block that is unlikely to be used. When the system identifies a slot with a significantly high probability of going unused, it sends an automated “nudge” to the surgeon’s scheduler, requesting a release of the slot. To incentivize the release, the nudge includes a calculation of how much the release will improve the surgeon’s block utilization rate.
Proactively filling unused slots. Under a manual process, unused slots are often filled with the first available procedure, rather than the most appropriate one. The Qventus Perioperative Solution’s Available Time Outreach functionality analyzes the characteristics of available slots and matches them with surgeons’ predicted needs, and then offers the best-fit slots via email to the surgeon who’s most likely to use it and who also represents the highest value to Allina Health. The scheduler can accept or decline with a few clicks. If they decline, the system automatically moves to the next most likely candidate.
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3.5
hours of block released early each month
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6.3%
increase in primetime utilization
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13
robotic cases added per month
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89%
of OR requests through Qventus accepted