ELECTRONIC IN THE OR

Operating rooms are one of the most challenging environments to automate because the process pulls staff from the OR for training. Successful implementations depend on gradually introducing new technology, carefully integrating clinical and operational data, and designing software to match clinicians' workflow. Nurses at Saint Luke's Health System, Kansas City, MO, have been using a surgical management system since 2005. They usually become proficient within one to two weeks, depending on whether they were primarily circulators. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, developed its own integrated OR management system, which is used daily by more than 800 surgeons. The software was designed to mimic standard workflow processes.