Real-Time Locating Systems and the Effects on Efficiency of Anesthesiologists

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of Real Time Locating System (RTLS) technology on the perioperative efficiency of anesthesiologists. METHODS: : Group 1: Anesthesiologists at Main Campus who do not use RTLS. Group 2: Anesthesiologists at Josie Robertson Surgery Center who use RTLS. : DUR: Duration from when patient is admitted to the operating room and initiation of induction only for first case of the day by attending anesthesiologist. The outcome was compared between the two groups using Wilcoxon rank sum test. RESULTS: The duration between admission to the OR and initiation of induction was significantly shorter in JRSC (with RTLS) than main campus (without RTLS); specifically, median (25(th), 75(th) percentile) of the duration was 7.0 (5.0, 10.0) at JRSC vs. 8.0 (6.0, 11.0) at main campus (p < 0.0001, Table 1). CONCLUSION: In our initial study, we found that anesthesiologists who had access to RTLS at JRSC performed more efficiently in their preoperative evaluation of patients as well as time to induction for general anesthesia cases. Because of various confounding factors that potentially influenced the increase in efficiency of anesthesiologists with access to RTLS, this follow-up study aims to eliminate several confounding factors by assessing only time to induction of general anesthesia for all first cases of the day by anesthesiologists. We continue to find a small yet statistically significant difference in time to induction of anesthesiologists with access to RTLS. This translates directly into increased efficiency in perioperative workflow. Additional investigation and application can help elucidate the true value of RTLS on workflow efficiency in the healthcare setting.