How it works: Rapid Room Turnover

Operating room turnover refers to the time between one surgical case ending and the next patient entering the room. This period includes cleaning, restocking, equipment setup, and patient preparation. Turnover time directly impacts hospital capacity, efficiency, and revenue. Even small reductions can translate into more procedures per day and higher patient satisfaction. For example, reducing turnover by just 15 minutes across multiple ORs can yield millions in annual revenue. Efficient turnover isn’t only a clinical metric—it’s an operational benchmark that reflects coordination, communication, and process excellence across nursing, surgical, and environmental services teams.

Several variables contribute to turnover delays. These include communication breakdowns between surgical and cleaning teams, incomplete discharge documentation, equipment availability issues, and staffing shortages. Manual handoffs or unclear task ownership often extend downtime. Environmental Services (EVS) may wait for confirmation before cleaning begins, or nurses may spend time coordinating logistics rather than focusing on patient care. Equipment misplacement adds further delays. By addressing these root causes with technology such as Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) and automated notifications, hospitals can streamline workflows, eliminate manual dependencies, and ensure each step in the turnover process happens in sequence—without lag or confusion.

Reducing operating room (OR) turnover time requires a combination of workflow automation, staff coordination, and data visibility. Hospitals can use RTLS technology to automatically detect when a room becomes vacant and alert EVS teams immediately—eliminating manual calls or paperwork delays. Task automation ensures cleaning begins as soon as the patient exits, while real-time dashboards track progress across multiple rooms. With solutions like Kontakt.io’s Rapid Room Turnover, hospitals routinely reduce turnover by 50%, improving capacity and lowering costs. The key is replacing reactive processes with proactive orchestration—where teams receive instant, data-driven cues to act without waiting for administrative triggers.

Real-time location data provides visibility into where patients, staff, and equipment are within the hospital. By connecting these insights to workflow automation, hospitals can instantly detect when a patient leaves a room and notify the next team in the turnover chain. Kontakt.io’s Rapid Room Turnover uses BLE-based RTLS data to automatically alert EVS staff as soon as discharge occurs, allowing cleaning to start immediately. This eliminates wasted time waiting for updates or paperwork. Real-time location data also supports continuous improvement by capturing performance metrics, helping administrators identify bottlenecks, and forecasting future staffing or equipment needs for sustained efficiency.

Automation minimizes the human bottlenecks that slow down hospital operations. Instead of relying on phone calls or manual notifications, automated systems trigger cleaning and setup tasks the moment a discharge is detected. BLE and RTLS-based platforms, such as Kontakt.io’s solution, automatically prioritize rooms, alert staff via mobile devices, and update dashboards as work progresses. This reduces downtime and ensures staff resources are deployed where they’re needed most. Automation not only improves consistency and accuracy but also empowers staff by removing repetitive communication tasks. The outcome is a faster, safer, and more reliable turnover process that scales with hospital demand.

Tracking turnover performance requires real-time visibility and historical analytics. Modern RTLS systems like Kontakt.io’s Rapid Room Turnover provide live dashboards showing which rooms are clean, in progress, or awaiting attention. Each turnover event is automatically logged, generating accurate data for reporting and performance benchmarking. Hospitals can measure average turnover time, identify top-performing teams, and highlight process inefficiencies. Continuous monitoring enables proactive decision-making—adjusting staffing or resources to meet daily demands. Over time, this data-driven approach creates a culture of accountability and continuous improvement, ensuring that efficiency gains are sustained and scaled across departments.

Slow room turnover times directly contribute to patient flow challenges. When inpatient rooms remain unavailable, discharged patients can’t be replaced quickly, forcing the Emergency Department (ED) to hold patients longer. This bottleneck reduces throughput and increases wait times. By accelerating turnover, hospitals free up capacity faster, enabling admissions from the ED and reducing the number of “boarders.” Rapid Room Turnover solutions powered by RTLS orchestrate these transitions in real time—ensuring EVS teams act immediately, rooms are cleaned faster, and patients move efficiently through the care continuum. The result is smoother patient flow, higher satisfaction, and reduced operational strain.

Kontakt.io’s Rapid Room Turnover solution automates the entire room transition process using RTLS and BLE technology. It detects when a patient has been discharged and exited the facility, then automatically alerts Environmental Services teams to begin cleaning. Mobile notifications, dynamic task prioritization, and real-time dashboards replace manual coordination and paper-based workflows. Supervisors can track progress live, while analytics continuously optimize efficiency over time. The solution reduces turnover time by up to 50%, increases bed availability, and improves patient satisfaction. More importantly, it empowers staff to focus on care—not logistics—while delivering measurable ROI from day one.