The Role of the Robotics Coordinator: Improving Efficiency in a Robotic Surgery Program

Abstract

An increase in the number of surgical robots from four to nine at a large academic medical center in the northeastern United States created several challenges for personnel to keep up with the increased robotic surgical volume and remain efficient. To facilitate improvements, the robotic steering committee at the facility created a full-time robotics coordinator position. After joining the steering committee, the new coordinator performed a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis to identify specific goals for process improvement; these included improvements to procedure scheduling, OR layouts, surgeon preference cards, point-of-care supply storage, team communication, and new hire orientation and competency. This article discusses the role of a robotics program coordinator and how this coordinator used strategic management tools and techniques, including lean principles, to streamline processes, maximize efficiency, and decrease operational variances across the robotic surgery program at this institution.

Establishment and implementation of a clinical application and research database for surgical robots in China

“…Intuitive Surgical designed the first da Vinci robot with three arms in January 1999; it was approved by the US FDA in July 2000 as the first commercial product legally allowed for clinical use. This robot has been used in cardiothoracic surgery, urology, gynecology, general surgery, head and neck surgery, transplantation surgery, and pediatric surgery worldwide (Bhandari et al, 2020; Chaar et al, 2022; Etienne et al, 2020; Feng et al, 2022; Gumbs et al, 2021; Higgins & Gould, 2020; Hosein et al, 2020; Kaan & Ho, 2020; Lawrence, 2022; Rafael & René, 2021). As of June 30, 2022, Intuitive Surgical announced that more than 7135 da Vinci robots have been installed in hospitals worldwide, with more than 10 million procedures performed till date and more than 55,000 surgeons in 70 countries trained on the da Vinci system (Seetharam Bhat et al, 2020; Vinh et al, 2021; Wang et al, 2022).…”

Performance of a multidisciplinary robotic surgery program at a university hospital (2012–2022)

“…Establishing a successful robotic surgery program is an attractive prospect for hospitals; however, several requirements must be met to ensure its sustainability within the current healthcare landscape [5]. Meticulous initial design is crucial, followed by a focus on maintenance and growth to maximize the program's bene ts.…”