Providence Health System

Providence faced significant challenges optimizing operating room efficiency, constrained by outdated block management practices and limited real-time visibility into OR availability. Artificially restricted capacity due to mismanaged block time limited the system's ability to maximize OR utilization, impacting patient access and delaying care across a large multi-state footprint.

Providence implemented data-driven strategies and AI-powered technology through LeanTaaS to transform OR management practices across 422 operating rooms in six states, deployed within nine months. The initiative included establishing governance structures, system-wide change management, and leveraging AI/ML capabilities to fill open OR time, proactively release unused block time, and improve surgical scheduling decisions.

Providence reduced abandoned block time by 30%, increased block utilization by nearly 5%, and extended proactive block release times to an average of 28 days. These improvements enabled Providence to serve over 6,000 incremental patients in just 10 months, reducing surgeons' case backlogs by as much as 50% in some instances while also contributing to financial margin growth.

• Proactive block release (averaging 28 days out) is a key lever for unlocking hidden OR capacity at scale without adding physical infrastructure.
• System-wide governance and change management are prerequisites for successfully deploying AI across hundreds of ORs in multiple states.
• Addressing block time mismanagement can simultaneously improve patient access, surgeon satisfaction, and financial performance.