Leadership & Management

Designing a Safer OR Using a Human-centered Approach: Learnings from a Four-year Patient Safety Learning Lab #2010 (1.00 CH)

2010 - Designing a Safer OR Using a Human-centered Approach: Learnings from a Four-year Patient Safety Learning Lab #2010 (1.00 CH)

Speaker(s)

• AJ

  Anjali Joseph, PhD, EDAC

  Clemson University

Adverse events, such as surgical site infections and surgical errors, are a huge problem in the OR due to the highly vulnerable state of the patient and the complex interactions required between providers of different disciplines and a range of equipment, technology, and the physical space where care is provided. A four-year Patient Safety Learning Lab, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, explored how different aspects of the OR system impacted patient safety through in-depth observations of surgeries, case studies of different facilities, literature review, and interviews with clinicians. This research formed the basis for an OR prototype that was designed iteratively through a highly collaborative multidisciplinary process between students and researchers at Clemson University and clinicians from the Medical University of South Carolina. This presentation describes the design process and the key features of this human-centered OR prototype that is built as a high-fidelity mock-up in Charleston, South Carolina.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss key evidence-based design principles for designing an operating room, including how these principles were integrated into a prototype operating room.
• Explain how a multidisciplinary team used a systems approach to designing a safer and more ergonomic operating room as part of a patient safety learning lab (PSLL).
• Describe how human factors and systems engineers can work with clinicians and design teams during a health care facility design project.