The German Perioperative Procedural Time Glossary A concerted recommendation of the German societies of anaesthesiology, surgery and operating room management

Abstract

Successful operating-room management aims at reorganisation and optimisation of perioperative processes, whereas a sufficient reporting system is essential to an efficient management. The management of perioperative processes depends on the recording and analysis of appropriate variables which were initially defined in consensus by the appropriate societies in 2008. Due to the increasing complexity of the operating-room workflow an even more sophisticated template of process variables seemed to be desirable. Based on an updated review of the literature and the current clinical routine, significant markers of perioperative processes are defined. A precise description of each variable is given together with an exact interpretation of the variable's meanings. Three categories are discriminated: patient logistics, anaesthesia, and surgery with special emphasis on those variables which are of crucial importance to process documentation and analysis. Therefore, this glossary provides a concerted list of precisely defined variables reflecting perioperative processes proofed by the German societies of anaesthesiology, surgery and operating room management. Based on the defined variables, process analysis and the reorganisation of current and future generations of operating room managers may improve. Furthermore, a standardised definition of medical emergencies and the corresponding coordinative reaction have been added.