PURPOSE: To analyze cancellations of surgeries and identify evidence-based interventions to address this issue. DESIGN: Integrative literature review. METHODS: An integrative literature search was conducted in four databases: CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane and included literature sources dated January 2011 to January 2016. The complete list of search terms consisted of the following: ambulatory surgery, day surgery center, elective surgical procedure, elective operation, elective surgery, schedule, access to care, surgery cancellation, operation cancellation, and surgery delay. FINDINGS: Twenty-three literature sources were identified. Evidence included one randomized controlled trial and multiple studies. Causes of cancellations were classified into three categories: hospital-related reasons, patient-related reasons, and surgeon-related reasons. Evidence confirmed most cancellations were avoidable. CONCLUSIONS: Cancellation of scheduled surgeries has a significant impact on patients' health, resources, cost, and quality of care. It is difficult to devise a solution without understanding the cause of cancellations.
PURPOSE: To analyze cancellations of surgeries and identify evidence-based interventions to address this issue. DESIGN: Integrative literature review. METHODS: An integrative literature search was conducted in four databases: CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane and included literature sources dated January 2011 to January 2016. The complete list of search terms consisted of the following: ambulatory surgery, day surgery center, elective surgical procedure, elective operation, elective surgery, schedule, access to care, surgery cancellation, operation cancellation, and surgery delay. FINDINGS: Twenty-three literature sources were identified. Evidence included one randomized controlled trial and multiple studies. Causes of cancellations were classified into three categories: hospital-related reasons, patient-related reasons, and surgeon-related reasons. Evidence confirmed most cancellations were avoidable. CONCLUSIONS: Cancellation of scheduled surgeries has a significant impact on patients' health, resources, cost, and quality of care. It is difficult to devise a solution without understanding the cause of cancellations.
Authors: K Søreide; J Hallet; J B Matthews; A A Schnitzbauer; P D Line; P B S Lai; J Otero; D Callegaro; S G Warner; N N Baxter; C S C Teh; J Ng-Kamstra; J G Meara; L Hagander; L Lorenzon Journal: Br J Surg Date: 2020-04-30 Impact factor: 6.939