The Road to Surgical Care Efficiency in a Flawed and Ineffective Environment

The Road to Surgical Care Efficiency in a Flawed and Ineffective Environment

Surgical care involves patient monitoring before and after operations. A failing, dysfunctional surgical arena affects the quality of outcomes in surgical care. The perioperative department physicians handle preoperative, intraoperative, postoperative phases on surgical care. Therefore, it needs competent personnel, innovative surgical methods, and reduction of medical errors during operations. In a flawed, ineffective environment, the quality of surgical care in the perioperative department lowers. The study uses the PICOT question, a literature review, and a table of evidence to confirm the hypothesis. It promotes the ideology that lean systems promote continuous development, and they are overly effective in handling the flaws in a failing dysfunctional surgical arena.

1. PICOT Question

P- The population includes nurses and physicians who play a critical role in perioperative departments

I- Lean methodologies are effective in managing flaws and failing systems as they increase efficiency

C- A flawed and ineffective environment affect the road to surgical care efficiency

O- Reduction of flaws and ineffectiveness using lean methods cause surgical care efficiency

T- Lean methodologies of surgical care require an understanding of innovation and continuous improvement. Within a week’s training on lean processes, perioperative care professionals will grasp techniques of managing failing and dysfunctional systems. .

1. Literature Search

The study involved a literature search on credible sites, including PubMed, Elsevier, Sage, and NCBI. The keywords that were critical to the search included surgical care, efficiency, flaws, and ineffectiveness. As part of a study on the outcomes, keywords included medical errors, innovation or technology, continuous improvement, planning, leadership, and software. The rationale is to establish the impacts of flaws and ineffectiveness perioperative departments. Various search materials provide solutions such as the reduction of medical errors and the introduction of innovative practice. They recommend training because nurses and physicians do not come from a technological background, but they should implement innovative measures of handling perioperative patients.

1. Table of Evidence

1. Molliqaj, G., Robin, M., Czarnetzki, C., Daly, M. J., Agostinho, A., & Tessitore, E. (2020). Perioperative Management: Surgical Site Infection Prevention, DVT Prophylaxis, and Blood Loss Management. In Surgery of the Cranio-Vertebral Junction (pp. 125-138). Springer, Cham.

Purpose of Article

To prevent morbidity, mortality, surgical site infections, and excessive loss of blood in spine surgical procedures.

Design

Quasi-experimental

Methodology

Mixed research methodology

Findings

Molliqaj, Robin, Czarnetzki, Daly, Agostinho, and Tessitore (2020) explain that perioperative departments need teams that can manage preoperative, intraoperative, postoperative patients effectively. They focused on spinal injuries that create a host of complications, including “deep vein thrombosis and subsequent pulmonary embolus” (Molliqaj et al., 2020, p. 6). Therefore technologies such as ultrasound play an integral role in physical examination to establish a patient’s history. The innovative processes increase the team’s chances of lowering the chances of excessive blood loss, management of surgical site infections (SSIs), preventing morbidity, and mortality.  The researchers affirm that technological policies can create awareness about continuous improvement in healthcare as professional intervention methods of handing patients in perioperative departments. Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) are common and can cause prolonged hospitalization, disease reoccurrence, morbidity, and mortality, but lean methods can assist in limiting the complications. Lean methodology is about continuous improvement.  “Perivertebral venous plexus” causes intraoperative bleeding and SSIs, but radiosurgery can provide treatment (Molliqaj et al., 2020). Through lean methods, physicians can use non-invasive surgical measures such as chiropractic manipulation and heat therapy to treat spinal injuries and back pain. The procedures are safe, efficient, and minimize flaws. They promote quick recovery and expose patients to limited pain.  With technological advancements, medical practitioners must engage in training to achieve continuous improvement and enhance quality patient outcomes.

Conclusions

A proper surgical care design must provide the best conditions that support long-term care. Spinal injuries are complex, and any small mistake might have adverse effects on the patient. Teams should always engage in innovative training programs to learn about lean operations. They will acquire enough information to deal with medical emergencies in perioperative departments. They must also have a natural urge for continuous improvement.

Critical Appraisal Tool & Score

Checklist and weighted list

7/10

1. Jiang, N., & Malkin, B. D. (2016). Use of lean and CAHPS surgical care survey to improve patients’ experiences with surgical care. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 155(5), 743-747.

Purpose of Article

To assess the reactions of patients to surgical care using lean methods of care improvement

Design

Exploratory

Methodology

Qualitative

Findings

Jiang and Malkin (2016) issued the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) to two groups of patients. Some of them were in the preoperative while others shared their experiences as postoperative patients. The survey measured clinical outcomes against the use of lean methods in system improvement. The technical skills of the surgeon and innovation are integral in the attainment of efficiency during surgical operations. Patient satisfaction depends on the delivery of patient-centered solutions, and such outcomes rely on continuous development, which is a product of innovation. Jiang and Malkin (2016) support the use of intraoperative technical skills in reducing mortality and morbidity rates in patients. In the study, 93% of the patients indicated improvement in their experiences post-surgery. Lean operations often deliver tangible results, even if the input is Software-generated. Patients are happy when all the stages of lead methods apply because they support continuous improvement. Therefore, problem identification, planning, execution, and review are crucial in reducing complications arising from flawed and ineffective perioperative systems. Health technology assessment tools offer training to nurses and physicians so that they can handle perioperative patients with the required quality of care (Jiang & Malkin, 2016). One of the most significant challenges is that governments rarely align policies with a health technology assessment to focus on innovation in surgical care. Thus, surgical outcomes often have detrimental effects on patients. With lean thinking, hospitals can intervene rapidly and address complex surgical situations, and governments must support hospitals to realize change.

Conclusion

Anaesthesiologists, nurses, microbiologists, surgeons, and infection control professionals are effective when they use lean operations in perioperative departments. Even as they work in teams, such individuals are productive with technological support. Hospitals should try combining CAHPS Surgical Care Survey with lean methods to achieve the best healthcare outcomes in perioperative care.

Critical Appraisal Tool & Score

Performance test

7.5/10

1. Rodziewicz, T. L., & Hipskind, J. E. (2019). Medical error prevention. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.

Purpose of Article

To understand effective ways of reducing medical errors, especially in surgical settings

Design

Explanatory

Methodology

Qualitative

Findings

Improvement of surgical care efficiency means that error reduction must occur. According to Rodziewicz and Hipskind (2019), medical errors lead to the highest number of deaths in America. Unfortunately, recurrent mistakes are common in surgical theatres. Few physicians accept the blame for medical errors even when the safety challenges existed before the operation. Lean methodologies optimize perioperative processes and dignify healthcare practitioners. Hence, they do not have to worry about the shame of incompetence because consistent training makes them perfect at their job. Medical errors in surgical care include negligence. Rodziewicz and Hipskind (2019) rate negligence as an error of commission in which a surgeon performs a wring action on the right patient. It includes operating the wrong patient or forgetting an object in an individual’s body. Errors of omission include actions that surgeons forget to take, and negligence can also be part of them. Rodziewicz and Hipskind (2019) affirm that clinical errors cause the trust to diminish between healthcare professionals and clients. Sometimes medical errors attract legal implications, and governments must intervene to help victims. Lean operations rarely provide room for negligence or medical errors. Lean operations create room for authentic leadership, which means that supervision and correction are part of the holistic, innovative process.  The rationale is to avoid mistakes that would lead to resource misuse and poor quality of service despite the energy put into the practice.

Conclusion

The road to surgical care efficiency requires a holistic approach to address error reduction. Lean operations reduce errors and maximize the utilization of the available resources. On multiple occasions, lean methods create value for patients by optimizing surgical processes, reducing the surgeon’s effort, and producing quality outcomes.

Critical Appraisal Tool & Score

Ranking method

9/10

1. Reflection on Analysis of the Evidence

Efficiency in surgical care depends on systems that reduce flaws and inefficiencies. In perioperative departments, the possibility of system flaws and ineffectiveness is high. Lean operations use innovation to limit errors and promote training to sustain continuous improvement. Due to the involvement of human health, constant improvement is a necessary tool for reducing morbidity and mortality rates. In the end, flaws and ineffectiveness will be under control if lean methods apply at every phase of perioperative care.

References List

Jiang, N., & Malkin, B. D. (2016). Use of lean and CAHPS surgical care survey to improve patients’ experiences with surgical care. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 155(5), 743-747.

Rodziewicz, T. L., & Hipskind, J. E. (2019). Medical error prevention. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing.

Molliqaj, G., Robin, M., Czarnetzki, C., Daly, M. J., Agostinho, A., & Tessitore, E. (2020). Perioperative Management: Surgical Site Infection Prevention, DVT Prophylaxis, and Blood Loss Management. In Surgery of the Cranio-Vertebral Junction (pp. 125-138). Springer, Cham.