New method to increase operating room efficiency from Turkish researchers in Türkiye and UK.
With the work they signed under the leadership of Lecturer Serhat Gül, Industrial Engineering Department, TED University, Turkish researchers from Bath University and Bilkent University started a new era in the medical world. Thanks to the surgery scheduling approach they developed with the parallel processing principle, the idle time in the operating rooms is reduced by up to 40%.
Researchers from the University of Bath in England and Bilkent University carried out a study that greatly increased the efficiency of the operating rooms with the work they carried out under the leadership of Lecturer Serhat Gül, Industrial Engineering Department, TED University. In the study, it was revealed that many factors should be taken into account in order to plan the surgeries in the most efficient way. These include the completion of pre-operative preparations, the duration of the operation, the patient’s condition, the availability of surgical equipment and the waiting times of other patients.
The idle time of operating theaters is reduced by 40%
Drawing attention to the fact that the productivity of healthcare workers was increased with this project, Lecturer Dr. Serhat Gül, Industrial Engineering Department, TED University conveys his thoughts on the subject with the following words, “The study was first tested in the urology service and results were achieved that would make the researchers happy. It has been proven that an average of 40% improvement can be achieved in the idle time of the operating room by considering the waiting times of the patients. We believe that this research will bring great benefits to both patients and healthcare professionals. We anticipate that with the right planning, many more surgeries can be performed in hospitals with a limited number of operating rooms.”
“Healthcare workers’ jobs will become easier”
Lecturer Dr. Serhat Gül, Industrial Engineering Department, TED University said, “Given the uncertainties in the duration of the surgeries, the process of scheduling the surgeries is quite complex. However, with this study, we have demonstrated that complex processes are simple and can be automated to improve the existing systems of hospitals. This practice will reduce the workload of health managers and pave the way for more planned and time-saving operations in hospitals. Pilot applications will be started in various hospitals in the near future.”
Featured in scientific and academic publications around the world
Underlining that the article published in Omega, one of the leading scientific journals in the field of management science, also found its place in worldwide media, Lecturer Dr. Serhat Gül, Industrial Engineering Department, TED University concluded his words as follows, “The results of the research, supported by the TEDU Scientific Research Projects fund, were recently published on the news page of the British University of Bath and on the popular science websites of the UK. In the coming period, we aim to undertake studies that will improve various processes in the field of health.”
