Surgical Preference Cards
By: Ashwin Kulkarni
Published: June 5, 2019
Technology has advanced extremely rapidly in the 21st century yet hospitals and surgical operating rooms (ORs) have struggled to keep up. With technology offering proven methods to increase efficiency, lower OR costs and improve patient safety, surgeons and hospital executives are paying more attention to how the OR can be optimized even further. Though ORs have started to become modernized, there is plenty of work left to be done.
In fact, Brainlab has conducted a thorough survey at its Digital OR Symposium in March, 2019 that found that surgical teams are ready to further integrate technology into the OR. This conference was held in Munich, bringing together leading hospitals and industry partners to build the ORs of the future with ever-advancing technology. The survey included 130 specialists – including physicians, hospital administrators and software engineers – from 19 countries, detailing their thoughts on where the OR stands today and how it can be improved in the future.
Two findings stuck out more than perhaps any other in this survey. Around 96 percent of respondents desired at least some data in the OR. A staggering 56 percent of respondents preferred some or all of their data at their fingertips in the surgery room, demonstrating the desire for data accessibility during or around surgery. Even more telling, 60 percent of respondents answered to needing more advanced technology in order to successfully complete their work in the OR.
OR room modernization requires not only precise instruments but tools that also aid in procedural organization and accuracy. With surgeons becoming more comfortable with – and even preferring – increased technology within the OR, the digital preference card becomes more appealing to hospital groups and independent practices that could use its features to more accurately detail a surgery before it occurs. As the preference card evolves, benefits include improvements to clinical education, training and organization. A majority of surgeons are ready to take the necessary steps required to optimize the OR as many of them realize that these technologies provide to surgical teams that will improve procedural accuracy and training.
“The education technology world is in the midst of a major transition. It is clear that OR Link is poised to become an innovator in medical education, training and assessment,” said Walter Cheek, Vice President of Breakaway Ltd, a leader in healthcare training and instruction.