Glossary

Actual First Case

In OR Analytics domain is used to calculate primetime start gap. In this context, an actual first case is a case performed as the first case in an OR room on a routine OR work day. This case may or may not be the scheduled first case.

Actual Last Case

In OR Analytics domain is used to calculate primetime start gap. In this context, an actual last case is a case performed as the last case in an OR room on a routine OR work day.

Add-on Case

A surgical case that is added on to the surgery schedule usually after the schedule has been published or disseminated to other departments. Depending on hospital policy, the add-on case may be added on the day of surgery or a day or 2 prior to day of surgery.

Age Bands

Groupings of patient age ranges for reporting purposes.

Anesthesia Technique

The technique used to anesthetize the patient for surgery. For example, local, epidural, genera, ans so on.

ASA Physical Status Classification System

See ASA Score

ASA Score

Scale to indicate the patient's overall health before surgery. Can be used by health organizations and groups to predict the patient's surgical risk.

Case

A comprehensive term referring to the surgical instance. It includes the tasks, individuals and time. A procedure or a surgery takes place within the context of a case.

Circulating Nurse

A registered nurse role; responsible for patient safety, coordinating and assisting surgical team during surgery.

Circulator

See Circulating Nurse.

Glossary of Times

See Timestamps, Scheduled, and Actual.

Holding Area

Optional area in a hospital where patients are held after they are made ready for surgery. In this area, IV lines may be started, preoperative sedation administered, anesthesia evaluation or anesthesia procedures performed. For example, performing anesthesia blocks or insertion of arterial line. It is not the same as Preoperative area.

Intraoperative Period

In OR Analytics domain this is the perioperative period when the patient is brought to the OR room to the time the patient leaves the OR room.

Last Case

Last case scheduled to be performed in an OR room on a routine OR work day.

Open Time

Block of OR time not allocated to a specific surgeon or group of surgeons for case scheduling.

Operating Room

In OR Analytics domain context, an OR Room is the atomic unit of the organization where surgical cases are scheduled and performed. An OR room may be dedicated to one surgical service or shared across multiple services.

In the OR Analytics domain, an OR room is considered an organizational business unit that can be included in an organizational hierarchy.

OR Block Assignment

A method to assign certain blocks of a specific OR room's time for specific day(s) to a service, group or individual surgeon for case scheduling. This time is reserved for the surgeon, service or group unless it is released.

OR Block Owner

The term used for surgeon or a group of surgeons to which a block is allocated.

OR Block Release, Automatic

When an allocated block or OR time, or portion thereof, is automatically released based on a time set by hospital policy (For example, 48h prior to the block start time). This releases the block to other surgeons for case scheduling.

OR Block Release, Voluntary

When an allocated block of OR time, or portion thereof, is released by owner prior to the hospital's set automatic block release time

OR Block, Allocated

Interval of OR room time, for specified day, that is reserved for a surgeon or group of surgeons for case scheduling.

OR Room

See Operating Room.

Patient

Person scheduled for surgery or against which surgery is performed

Performing Surgeon

In the OR Analytics, this is the surgeon scheduled to perform or actually performed a procedure within a case. There is one performing surgeon per procedure. It is possible to have more than one procedure in a case.

Perioperative Period

In OR Analytics domain, this period defines the day of surgery events and activities performed during the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative periods. If having same day surgery, it includes time of discharge from the hospital/facility

Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)

In the OR Analytics, this is the unit where level I recovery from surgical anesthesia is performed

Postoperative Period

In OR Analytics domain this is the perioperative period that begins after patient leaves the operating room to the time the patient leaves the perioperative area (for areas within or outside of the healthcare facility).

Practice

In context of OR Analytics domain, a medical group practice is defined as one or more physicians engaged in the practice of medicine as a legal entity sharing business management, facilities, records and personnel. A practice ”includes single- and multispecialty physician offices, ambulatory surgery and diagnostic imaging centers, hospital-based practices and academic practices”. According to the CMS, "practices cannot be implicit in the sense that provision of patient care services by employed or contracted physicians does not automatically cause an entity to become or be considered a practice. For example, a hospital is not considered a practice even though it employs or contracts with physicians to provide patient care services.

Preoperative Area

Unit or area where patient is prepared for surgery (on the day of surgery)

Preoperative Period

In OR Analytics domain, this phase covers events and activities performed prior to the day of surgery as well as on the day of surgery prior to start of the intraoperative phase.

Primary Procedure

In OR Analytics, this is a procedure that is considered the primary for the case. There is one primary procedure per case even if the case has multiple procedures.

Primary Surgeon

In OR Analytics, this is a surgeon that is considered the primary for the case. There is one primary surgeon per case.

Prime Time

Period of time defined by the customer when all rooms are available for scheduling (with normal staffing ratio). Prime time can be defined per OR room per day.

Recovery Room

See Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU).

Same Day Surgery Recovery Unit

Unit where patient level II recovery is performed prior to being discharged to home

Scheduled Case Date

The date for which the case is scheduled to be performed

Scheduled Cases

In OR Analytics domain context, a scheduled case is an unperformed case, with the required attributes, that is included in the surgery schedule. The case may or may not have been planned and scheduled ahead of time in a scheduling system. Cases scheduled with a short duration prior to surgery date may have been replacements to cancelled cases or added on at the request of the surgeon. A scheduled case may be flagged as booked (booked in a scheduling or booking system). A sample use of this flag is to filter analyses that were scheduled ahead of time (booked = Yes) vs. shorter term scheduled cases (booked = No). Although a scheduled case may be modified numerous times prior to the day of surgery, OR Analytics analyses will always use the latest changed version of the case.

Scheduled First Case

In OR Analytics domain is used to calculate first case start delays. In this context, a scheduled first case is a performed case that was scheduled to be the first case in an OR room on a routine OR work day. This assumes that this case will have both scheduled and actual case times that can be used for first case start delay calculations. The scheduled first case may or may note be the actual first case.

Scheduled Surgery Date

See Scheduled Case Date.

Scheduled Surgeon

Surgeon who is scheduled to perform a the case

Scheduled To-follow Case

In OR Analytics domain is used to calculate to-follow case start delays. In this context, a scheduled to-follow case is a performed case that was scheduled to follow another case in an OR room on a routine OR work day. This assumes that this case will have both scheduled and actual case times that can be used for to-follow case start delay calculations.

Service

In OR Analytics domain context, a service is a group of surgeons that together perform a restricted set of operative or diagnostic procedures. The services are usually formed on the basis of categories of surgical care that the group provides (For example, general surgery, gynecological surgery, vascular surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, orthopedic surgery, ENT surgery, and so on). In the OR Analytics domain, a service is considered an organizational business unit that can be included in an organizational hierarchy.

Specialty

In OR Analytics domain context, a specialty is group of surgeons based on their area of specialty. Areas of specialty are branches of surgery in which surgeons specialize (For example, abdominal surgery, gynecologic oncology, hand surgery, retinal surgery, facial reconstructive surgery, and so on.). In the OR Analytics domain, a specialty is not considered a business unit.

Surgical Case

See Case.

Timestamps, Scheduled, and Actual

In OR Analytics domain context, these timestamps are collected in a scheduled case or actual (performed case) to chronicle important scheduling and case events or activities during the pre-day of surgery preop, day of surgery preop, intraop and postop phases. These timestamps can be used to calculate scheduling, preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative efficiency durations.