Ardentia Updates Theatre Performance Module to Help NHS Trusts Improve Efficiency and Cut Costs

Sept. 24, 2010 - PRLog -- Healthcare intelligence specialist Ardentia has introduced an updated version of its Theatre Performance Module, which is designed to help NHS managers and clinicians better manage operating theatre utilisation, and identify areas for improving efficiency and patient care.

Operating theatres are a major cost element in the delivery of acute care, with average theatre running costs estimated at £4,000 per session.  A 2010 study by the NHS Confederation showed that typically only 47% of active theatre hours constituted actual procedure time, with late starts, early finishes and turnaround time accounting for over a third (34%) of the total used time in operating theatres.

Ardentia’s Theatre Performance Module gives managers and clinicians a powerful and flexible means of monitoring and reporting on operating theatre sessions, enabling them to identify specific areas where efficiency can be improved and theatre resources maximised.

According to the NHS Confederation study, operating theatres are often under-utilised with an average of just 34 hours scheduled per theatre per week.  Ardentia’s enhanced solution enables close investigation of specific issues, helping to optimise theatre management and patient care.

Steve Taylor, sales & marketing manager at Ardentia said: “The latest Theatre Performance Module enables clinicians and NHS managers to drill down into theatre sessions and identify any issues that arose, such as late starts, early finishes and cancellations. It also helps with investigating the reasons behind these issues and the impact on costs.  By investigating the utilisation of operating theatres and accessing detailed patient and session information, Trusts can maximise theatre resources and reduce areas of inefficiency, ensuring waste, not care, is being cut.”

The Theatre Performance Module is built on Ardentia’s proven HealthWare performance management solution, meaning staff have access to powerful data validation and transformation capabilities, giving access to the high quality data needed to support robust financial planning and management.

The module is easy to implement and configure using template concepts, and saves resource time through its enhanced, user-definable reporting.  This ensures clinicians and managers get quick access to targeted and relevant information to support informed management decisions.