Getting started with Surgical Block Scheduling Optimizer

The Surgical Block Scheduling Optimizer measures how each surgeon and service uses its allocated block time, predicts which blocks are likely to go unused, and suggests release in time for other surgeons to book. It estimates case durations from your own historical cases, so schedulers can compare the booked time with a data-based estimate. People decide every release, allocation and schedule change; the Optimizer proposes and records the reasoning.

What it is for

Block allocations are often set once and reviewed rarely, unused time is released late or not at all, and surgeons waiting for time cannot see what might open up. Case durations are booked from surgeon preference cards or habit, so some days run late and others finish early. When the perioperative committee reviews allocations, utilization figures are assembled from EHR reports and argued over, because each service measures them differently.

• Unused block time is found too late for anyone else to use it
• Booked case durations often differ from how long similar cases actually took
• Utilization is calculated differently by each service and disputed at committee
• Release requests and open-time requests travel by phone and email without a record

Who uses it

• Perioperative services directors and operating room managers
• OR schedulers and surgeon office schedulers
• Surgical department chairs and service line leaders
• Anesthesia leadership who plan staffing against the schedule
• Perioperative governance committees who set block policy

Before you start

• Your organization licenses Surgical Block Scheduling Optimizer from Moraph.
• A Moraph client account in that organization, signed in.
• Access to Surgical Block Scheduling Optimizer in Moraph Apps, given by an administrator in the Moraph Portal under People and access.
• For setup: the product administrator role.

Steps to get started

1. Sign in at app.moraph.com with your Moraph account.

2. Open Surgical Block Scheduling Optimizer from the launcher. The first time anyone opens it, its workspace is created from the default described in Workspace reference.

3. Check your role: what you can see and do depends on it. See Roles and permissions.

4. Product administrators: work through Set up Surgical Block Scheduling Optimizer before your team starts.

5. Everyone else: start with Everyday tasks.

Where to go next

• Set up Surgical Block Scheduling Optimizer
• Everyday tasks
• Connect your systems
• Security, data and compliance
• Troubleshooting and the support guide
• Product overview on moraph.com