Műtői hatékonyság az egészségügyi intézményekben

Operating Room Efficiency in Healthcare Institutions

Abstract

Operating room activity is one of the most complex and expensive domains of hospital care. It directly affects patient safety, access to surgery, staff workload, and institutional sustainability. International literature describes the operating room as a strategic unit because it is both a major cost center and, in many systems, an important source of hospital revenue. In Hungarian public care, however, improving operating room efficiency is primarily a matter of reducing avoidable losses and protecting limited capacity. Operating room performance is determined by utilization, block allocation, scheduling accuracy, first-case start reliability, turnover processes, communication, supply management, and information technology support. The most effective interventions include standardized perioperative pathways, historical-data-based duration estimates, parallel processing of selected tasks, improved team communication, rationalized instrument trays and supplies, and real-time operating room information systems. This review summarizes the major determinants of operating room efficiency and formulates practical recommendations while taking into account the different operational logic of Hungarian public and private surgical care.