Operating room efficiency isn't just about surgical excellence—it's about financial sustainability. A study published in JAMA Surgery reveals that every minute in the operating room costs hospitals between $36-37, making surgical delays and cancellations a significant financial burden on healthcare institutions.

The Cost of Operating Room Time

According to research by Childers and Maggard-Gibbons (2018), the average cost per minute in California hospitals was:

• $37.45 in inpatient settings

• $36.14 in ambulatory settings

Important to note: These figures represent only facility-related operating room costs. They do not include professional fees such as surgeon, anesthesiologist, or other medical staff compensation. When these professional fees are factored in, the actual cost per minute of operating room time is substantially higher. Surgical practice fees typically include:

• Surgeon fees, which can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars per procedure

• Anesthesiologist fees, which are often billed at their own hourly or per-case rates

• Surgical assistant fees when required

• Additional specialized medical staff fees depending on the procedure

This means the $37 per minute benchmark represents just the facility portion of operating room costs. The total economic impact of delays and cancellations, when including all professional fees, can be significantly higher—often 1.5 to 2 times the facility-only cost.

These figures encompass both direct and indirect costs, with direct expenses accounting for approximately 55-59% of total costs. The study, which analyzed data from over 300 California hospitals, provides a comprehensive benchmark for understanding the financial impact of operating room utilization.

The Financial Impact of Delays and Cancellations

When we consider these per-minute costs, the financial implications of surgical delays and cancellations become stark:

• A 30-minute delay costs hospitals approximately $1,100

• A one-hour delay results in over $2,200 in additional costs

• A cancelled surgery slot representing 3 hours of OR time amounts to nearly $6,700 in lost opportunity costs

Beyond Direct Costs

The study reveals that indirect expenses make up 41-45% of total operating room costs. These overhead costs continue to accumulate during delays and cancellations, even when no surgical procedures are being performed. Furthermore, the research shows that operating room costs have increased faster than both the consumer price index and medical consumer price index, making efficiency more critical than ever.

How Modern Solutions Address the Cost Challenge

This is where solutions like Highpass enter the picture. By reducing surgical delays and cancellations through improved communication and coordination, hospitals can significantly impact their bottom line. Consider the following benefits:

1. Reduced Last-Minute Cancellations: When patients are better prepared for surgery and communication barriers are eliminated, hospitals avoid the costly scenario of unused operating room time. Each prevented cancellation saves thousands of dollars in direct and indirect costs.

2. Minimized Delays: Better pre-operative preparation and coordination means fewer delays on the day of surgery. Even preventing small delays of 15-30 minutes per case can result in substantial cost savings across hundreds or thousands of annual procedures.

3. Improved Resource Utilization: With more predictable surgical schedules and fewer disruptions, hospitals can optimize staffing and resource allocation, potentially reducing the proportion of indirect costs which the study shows have been increasing over time.

The Business Case for Prevention

The JAMA Surgery study's findings make a compelling business case for investing in solutions that prevent delays and cancellations. If a hospital performs 5,000 surgeries annually and reduces average delays by just 20 minutes per case through better preparation and communication, the potential savings of millions per year.

These figures don't include additional benefits such as:

• Improved patient satisfaction

• Reduced staff overtime

• Better surgeon satisfaction and retention

• Increased capacity for additional procedures

Conclusion

As healthcare costs continue to rise faster than inflation, hospitals must find ways to optimize their most expensive resource—operating room time. The detailed cost analysis from the JAMA Surgery study provides clear evidence that even small improvements in efficiency can have major financial impacts. Solutions that address the root causes of delays and cancellations, such as Highpass' communication and coordination platform, offer hospitals a practical path to capturing these savings while simultaneously improving the experience for patients and healthcare providers alike.

By understanding that every minute counts at $37, hospitals can better evaluate the return on investment for solutions that help prevent delays and cancellations. In an era of increasing healthcare costs and tightening margins, such investments in efficiency aren't just good for operations—they're essential for financial sustainability.

References

1. Childers CP, Maggard-Gibbons M. Understanding Costs of Care in the Operating Room. JAMA Surg. 2018 Apr 18;153(4):e176233. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2017.6233.

2. Najjar PA, Ashley SW. How Should Surgeons Interpret Operating Room Costs?: Valuing Our Time. JAMA Surg. 2018 Apr 18;153(4):e176234. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2017.6234.

3. Childers CP, Maggard-Gibbons M, Nuckols T. A Comparison of Costs: How California Teaching Hospitals Achieved Slower Growth Than Nonteaching Hospitals in Operating Room Costs From 2005 to 2014. Acad Med. 2019 Oct;94(10):1539-1545.

Note: The analysis of potential savings through delay reduction and the impact of modern solutions is based on the cost benchmarks established in these studies combined with hypothetical scenarios for illustration purposes.