Process-optimized operating room: implementation of an integrated OR system into clinical routine.

The surgeon's working environment has changed continuously in recent years regarding the technical complexity of the components in use in the operating room (OR). Parallel to this development, demands for process-optimized procedures have also grown constantly. The impetus for these changes was the beginning of use of minimally invasive techniques in surgery. In contrast, overall development of the OR itself has been slight or nonexistent. What we are typically confronted with currently is an OR outfitted with high-tech medical equipment, whereas only to a limited extent can the design of the OR itself be regarded as ergonomic or holistic. This situation has spread to related specialties as well, and represents a general tendency. Whereas dentists, for example, already enjoy the benefits of a centralized management and operation workplace, this development has not yet reached a satisfactory level for surgeons.