Obstetrical Services

Well-run hospital labor and delivery units are critical to building lifelong patients, hospital growth, and profitability. Most importantly, they produce optimal patient outcomes. However, a poorly run labor and delivery department can create obstetrician retention and referral issues, result in patient dissatisfaction, and ultimately lead to poor financial performance.

Great variability exists in the needs and timing of the obstetrical patient, making the management of scheduling, materials, bed flow, referrals, access, and patient throughput particularly complicated. How can labor and delivery departments improve predictability, access, and patient/OB loyalty while also improving financial performance? Surgical Directions offers a range of services designed to help labor and delivery departments improve patient outcomes while sending more cash to the hospital bottom line.

Common Problems

While the effectiveness and efficiency of labor and delivery departments vary considerably from facility to facility, there are four key problems that tend to be observed in most settings:

1. Inefficient utilization of hospital space and resources
2. Difficulty staffing a 24-hour unit due to unpredictable case flow
3. Lack of predictive analytics to support variabilities within obstetrical units
4. Physician complaints about lack of access for scheduled labor and delivery procedures and staff skills

What We Do

Surgical Directions offers many ways to support labor and delivery departments seeking to:

1. Assess the current situation using client data and benchmarks to identify opportunities for improvement and quantify the benefits of making the improvements
2. Implement the chosen course of action through establishment of:

• L&D Advisory Board: support executive leadership in ensuring obstetricians work collaboratively to drive needed changes
• Anesthesia Workgroup: expand anesthesia coverage, optimize patient care prior to delivery, and adopt ERAS protocols
• Scheduling Performance Improvement Team (PIT): improve access for elective C-sections and implement scheduling by surgeon-specific case time
• Capacity Optimization PIT: increase the number of ORs used for C-sections, reduce C-section case time, and optimize patient flow
• Innovation: develop, test, and implement the option for early home discharge
• Engagement and Quality: Utilize national benchmarking and best-practice to optimize patient outcomes and staff satisfaction

Benefits

Attract and Retain Providers to grow perinatal volume

• Increased L&D volume and referrals
• Enhanced predictive analytics around case volume
• Upgraded and standardized Pre-Anesthesia Testing Protocols
• Collaborative working relationship between Anesthesia, Nursing and Physicians

Enhance Quality Measures

• Improved patient and staff satisfaction scores
• Best-in-class patient outcomes

Optimize Care & Efficiency

• Establish collaborative culture of safety
• Tap into the best available evidence, including national, individual, and hospital-level data to track department performance
• Greater resource efficiency