CENTRALIZED CONTROL Video integration systems corral all the information that's already available in the OR and let your route it when and where your team needs it.

The video integration system in our integrated operating rooms enhances the overall experience for all the surgical team. The surgeon is like the conductor of an orchestra within the OR. Routing images to the appropriate screens with a touch of a finger on the touchpad of the router or command center, we can place video and surgical images wherever it is best suited for optimal performance: endoscopic video on the big wall-mounted screen, and the patient's vitals, X-ray images, ultrasound images, robotic display image, and video from the overhead light camera are some of the many options.

With the integration, especially with the wi-fi connection to the secondary monitors, we are able to decrease the unruly congestion of data displays in the OR. This saves space, reduces clutter, and improves the safety of the surgical team moving about in the OR. Like an orchestra with all the key players located in the correct spot, the overall performance is balanced for optimal efficiency.

Many tout video integration's ability to control the routing of audio/video signals from different pieces of equipment from a central location as its greatest clinical utility. But there are so many more benefits. Some systems let you control the insufflators and light sources, as well as the lighting and room climate controls. You can record surgeries from multiple camera angles. You can stream live surgeries around the world. In addition, your surgeons can view and manipulate video and images during and after the case for optimal electronic health record documentation without the clutter of DVDs, jump drives or photographs.

If you're thinking of integrating your ORs so you can better manage your OR video and surgical devices, this list of 8 obvious and not-so-obvious benefits might help convince you to dive in.

• Speech-recognition dictation. Newer integration systems let physicians dictate right from the field — as they're closing the incision. Software captures the op note and puts it right into medical records. Not only is this is a great time-saver, but the op note will be more detailed and accurate, and you won't have to chase docs down to complete their dictation.

• Documentation. Surgeons can capture and save to a secure server with the cloud, video and other images for documentation purposes. They can drag and drop them onto the medical record, forward them to their office to show patients what their procedures looked like during a post-op visit or archive them. It's easy to tag photos, noting a meniscus tear or pointing to the pathology of concern in the documentation.
• Remote consults. Surgeons can communicate to other surgeons for consultation purposes. Intraoperatively, the web-based systems have the ability to contact a referring physician or other specialty surgeon for intraoperative consultation, enhancing patient care and outcomes.
• Scheduling. With some of the integration systems, the video monitors within the room can also be viewed from a central station, letting the nurses running the schedule see how the procedure is progressing. With large OR departments, the charge nurse or board runner is similar to an air traffic controller, always watching the status of the ORs to make sure to avoid cancellations and delays. The video monitoring is helpful to know which room may be closing at the end of a procedure or one where the patient is just entering the room and starting a case by simply looking at a monitor that shows what's going on in multiple ORs.
• Crowd control. As an academic teaching center, it's not unusual for additional OR personnel to be in the OR for procedures. With enhanced monitoring capabilities, they can stand farther away from the OR field, which is optimal for infection prevention. With an integration system attached to a learning center or simulation lab, the image can be routed to a different room for a different learning experience. The case observation via the live video feed to the training lab can reduce the stress of the OR team as well as the learners. Patient safety and infection prevention are key to quality outcomes. We strive to be world class in our performance metrics.
• Videoconferencing. We have also participated in virtual continuing education conferencing. During a continuing education seminar last year at a university conference room, filled with more than 100 nurses and doctors, we had surgeons perform live surgery with a video feed into the conference room. With 2-way audio communication, the surgeon worked the robot, while another narrated for the audience and asked questions to the surgeon.
• Room configurations. Most surgeons prefer their room configured a certain way. Some video integration systems can save preferred audio, camera, lighting, and video settings into presets, so you can ready the room equipment with the touch of a button. This feature could reduce turnaround time and enhance surgeon satisfaction and lessen the learning curve for the surgical team.
• Time outs. Some systems broadcast a pre-surgical checklist to all monitor screens to remind the OR team to take a time out, again a patient safety initiative.

Looking to upgrade
Video integration can be confusing. Video and audio inputs and outputs. Video signals going in and out of the room. Media routers. The easiest way to think about it is this: An OR is integrated if you can corral all the information that's already available in the OR and route it when and where your team needs it.

We're looking to upgrade our system. We just did a multi-vendor trial in which our surgeons got to sample each system's features for 2 weeks. It was like giving a kid a new toy and then taking it away. That's how advanced today's newest systems are. OSM