By Amanda Antieri, Program Director, Implementations

The surgical workflow doesn't begin when a case appears on the OR schedule, and it doesn't end once surgery is booked.

From the initial surgical order to the completed procedure, each case moves through multiple operational steps involving surgical coordinators, clinical teams, insurance departments, and facilities.

For practice leaders, visibility into this process is essential. It's not enough to know how many surgeries are scheduled. Leaders need to understand which cases are progressing, which are ready, and where potential delays could impact surgical volume.

An effective surgical workflow connects daily coordination with leadership visibility, giving teams the tools to move cases forward while providing leaders with meaningful operational insights.

The Surgical Workflow extends beyond the EMR

While the surgical workflow often begins with an order in the electronic medical record (EMR), the work required to get that patient to the OR typically extends across multiple systems and departments.

Scheduling, insurance authorization, medical clearances, patient communication, and facility coordination may all happen in different places.

Without a centralized workflow, coordinators spend valuable time searching for information, tracking down updates, and manually communicating between teams. Meanwhile, leadership may lack a clear picture of where cases actually stand.

An order in the EMR doesn't necessarily mean a case is scheduled, and a scheduled case doesn't necessarily mean the patient is ready for surgery.

Connecting these operational steps creates greater visibility into case progression and what needs to happen next.

Scheduled Doesn't Always Mean Ready

One of the most important distinctions in surgical operations is the difference between a scheduled case and a surgery-ready case.

A patient may have a confirmed surgery date while insurance authorization, medical clearance, required documentation, or facility-specific requirements remain outstanding.

For coordinators, managing these requirements is part of their daily responsibilities. For leadership, they represent potential risks to surgical volume, operational efficiency, and patient experience.

A well-defined surgical workflow helps teams identify outstanding requirements earlier, prioritize cases needing attention, and address potential delays before they result in last-minute cancellations or rescheduling.

What Leaders Need to See

Practice leaders don't need to manage every scheduling task. They need a reliable view of the surgical pipeline and where intervention may be necessary.

That includes visibility into:

• Case progression: Where does each case stand from order to OR?
• Surgical readiness: Which upcoming cases have outstanding requirements?
• At-risk cases: What could prevent a scheduled surgery from moving forward?
• Ownership: Who is responsible for resolving outstanding items?
• Operational trends: Are certain requirements, departments, or facilities consistently creating delays?

These insights help leaders move beyond reviewing surgical volume to understanding the operational factors affecting performance.

For example, recurring clearance delays at a particular location may indicate an opportunity to improve the process rather than addressing each delayed case individually.

What Coordinators Need

While leadership focuses on visibility, surgical coordinators are responsible for moving cases through the workflow every day.

They need a clear view of outstanding tasks, upcoming deadlines, missing requirements, and cases needing immediate attention.

When information is scattered across spreadsheets, emails, and multiple systems, coordinators spend more time searching for updates than moving cases forward.

A centralized workflow helps teams prioritize their work, maintain consistent processes, and provide coverage when team members are unavailable.

Most importantly, leadership visibility should be a natural result of coordinators managing their daily work, not an additional administrative responsibility.

Building Consistency and Accountability

Not every surgeon, specialty, or facility follows the same process. Requirements may vary, but practices still need consistency in how cases are tracked, managed, and communicated.

Establishing clear expectations around case readiness, task ownership, follow-up, and escalation helps reduce confusion and improve accountability.

AHRQ's TeamSTEPPS handoff guidance emphasizes clear communication, transfer of responsibility, and acknowledgment by the receiving team.¹

Applied to surgical coordination, an effective handoff ensures the next person understands the case status, outstanding requirements, and actions needed to keep surgery moving forward.

Connecting Daily Execution With Leadership Visibility

The most effective surgical workflow supports both the people managing cases and the leaders overseeing operations.

Surgimate helps bridge that gap by providing a centralized workflow for managing surgical cases, tracking outstanding requirements, and coordinating the steps leading up to surgery.

By connecting daily coordination with operational visibility, practices can identify potential delays earlier, improve accountability, and gain a clearer understanding of their surgical pipeline.

Better surgical workflow management isn't just about knowing what's scheduled. It's about understanding what's ready, what's at risk, and what needs to happen next.

Explore How Surgimate Supports Your Surgical Workflow

References

1. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2023). Tool: Handoff. TeamSTEPPS. Read source.

2. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2023). Monitoring and modifying the plan: Huddle. TeamSTEPPS. Read source.