BACKGROUND: This study investigates case cancellations on the intended day of surgery (DOS) at a paediatric hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The hospital in Melbourne treats over 32 000 inpatients annually and handles both elective and emergency cases. METHODS: The data for this paper were collected over a period of 12 months, from June 2004 to June 2005. The data were extracted retrospectively from the theatre computer system. A nurse researcher reviewed the full written details of all cancellations to clarify their cause and confirm the reasons for cancellation; the reasons for cancellation were then sorted into one of 14 groups. RESULTS: There were 16 559 theatre bookings, and of these, 1198 (7.2%) were cancelled on the DOS. There was a mean of 3.28 cancellations of surgery on the intended day. The hospital-initiated postponements accounted for 18.5% of DOS cancellations. The top four reasons for cancellation accounted for 65% of all cancelled surgeries and were all patient initiated. CONCLUSIONS: There was also evidence that some specialties were more susceptible to DOS cancellation than others. The paper ends with proposals to reduce patient-initiated cancellations and directions for future research.
BACKGROUND: This study investigates case cancellations on the intended day of surgery (DOS) at a paediatric hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The hospital in Melbourne treats over 32 000 inpatients annually and handles both elective and emergency cases. METHODS: The data for this paper were collected over a period of 12 months, from June 2004 to June 2005. The data were extracted retrospectively from the theatre computer system. A nurse researcher reviewed the full written details of all cancellations to clarify their cause and confirm the reasons for cancellation; the reasons for cancellation were then sorted into one of 14 groups. RESULTS: There were 16 559 theatre bookings, and of these, 1198 (7.2%) were cancelled on the DOS. There was a mean of 3.28 cancellations of surgery on the intended day. The hospital-initiated postponements accounted for 18.5% of DOS cancellations. The top four reasons for cancellation accounted for 65% of all cancelled surgeries and were all patient initiated. CONCLUSIONS: There was also evidence that some specialties were more susceptible to DOS cancellation than others. The paper ends with proposals to reduce patient-initiated cancellations and directions for future research.
Authors: Joseph R Starnes; Matthew D McEvoy; Jesse M Ehrenfeld; Warren S Sandberg; Jonathan P Wanderer Journal: J Med Syst Date: 2015-08-30 Impact factor: 4.460