In the previous post of our Vital Stats series, we explored the hidden cost of OR downtime. In the fourth post of our series, we dig into the utilization conundrum.
Perioperative teams spend hours building schedules that aim to balance block time, staff availability, and patient needs. However, despite best efforts, both overscheduled and underscheduled cases continue to wreak havoc on daily operations.
The result? Delays. Idle Time. Frustration. Overtime. Burnout.
Static schedules built on averages
We dug into the data across dozens of hospitals to quantify just how far off those schedules really are and what it means for OR efficiency. The findings confirm what most OR leaders already know: surgical schedules are consistently inaccurate.
Many hospitals still rely on one-size-fits-all EHR estimates to build daily schedules. These time estimates are often based on retrospective averages, which are disconnected from real-time data or the surgical context. Worse yet, schedules are typically locked-in and difficult to dynamically adjust without manual coordination, multiple phone calls, and extensive spreadsheet shuffling.
Check out our complete ebook on Vital Stats: Uncovering Hidden Inefficiencies in the OR to learn about the blind spots that ambient AI exposes and traditional documentation in the EHR often overlooks.
Overscheduling and underscheduling everywhere
We analyzed thousands of cases across dozens of hospital sites, focusing on two key thresholds:
- Cases off by 30 minutes or more
- Cases off by 60 minutes or more
Overscheduled cases yield wasted capacity
- 16.4% of cases ran 30+ minutes shorter than scheduled
- 4.8% of cases ran 60+ minutes shorter than scheduled
That’s a significant chunk of time when the OR is booked but sitting empty. This not only lowers daily case volume but also frustrates staff and leaves patients waiting longer than necessary.
Underscheduled cases yield delays that snowball
- 28% of cases ran 30+ minutes longer than scheduled
- 11.5% of cases ran 60+ minutes longer than scheduled
This is where the real domino effect starts. Underscheduled cases accumulate into delays across the day. They impact room turnover, pushing back later cases, and racking up unplanned overtime.
The schedule is broken but fixable
No amount of planning can fully eliminate surprises in the OR. But, without real-time, intelligent tools, even the most well-designed schedule keeps the surgical team flying blind. Ambient AI and predictive analytics can help teams:
- Automatically identify over- and underestimated case times
- Re-optimize the schedule mid-day without manual guesswork
- Smooth out case duration variability and reduce overtime
It’s a shift from static planning to dynamic coordination, from reacting to staying ahead. With the right tools, surgical teams can finally build schedules that respond to the real day, not the ideal one.
Check out our complete ebook on Vital Stats: Uncovering Hidden Inefficiencies in the OR to learn about the blind spots that ambient AI exposes and traditional documentation in the EHR often overlooks.