In the operating room, every minute counts. From physician schedules to anesthesiology coverage, nursing availability, and scrub tech assignments—efficient staff allocation is at the heart of surgical throughput, patient safety, and profitability.
Yet, despite the complexity of this task, many surgical departments still rely on traditional grease boards and manual tracking to manage it all. These outdated methods make it difficult to adjust in real-time, visualize case readiness, or understand who is available—leading to delays, miscommunication, and underutilized resources.
One common hesitation when moving from a physical whiteboard to a digital solution is the perceived loss of flexibility—especially the ability to quickly annotate or make case-specific notes on the fly. Leap Rail addresses this head-on. With features like the Bullpen and case labels, users get the best of both worlds regaining that same level of flexibility while benefiting from the power of a digital platform: real-time updates, centralized visibility, audit trails, and changes that instantly sync across devices and departments.
Introducing the OR Bullpen
Leap Rail has reimagined how hospitals and ASCs manage stakeholder and staffing assignments with the introduction of the Bullpen. Inspired by the bullpen concept in baseball, where pitchers are ready and available to be called into the game, the OR Bullpen provides a live view of available personnel—including anesthesiologists, circulators, scrub techs, and other key team members—ready to be assigned to a case or surgical suite.
This functionality allows surgical leaders to make fast, informed decisions about staffing, based on real-time availability and department needs. Assignments can be made with a few clicks in the Leap Rail platform, and updates are reflected immediately on the Leap Board—eliminating confusion and increasing accountability.
It’s particularly valuable given the reality that anesthesia and nursing staff are typically managed by different leaders. Without a shared view of assignments, it’s easy for communication breakdowns to occur. Leap Rail brings these teams together with one centralized system—so everyone’s working from the same playbook.
Anesthesia staff are often deployed outside of the OR for procedures in other departments (NORA cases), which makes it harder to know who is still available to support a surgical case. The Bullpen solves this by providing a real-time view of staff status—making it easy to see, for example, that 7 out of 10 anesthesia team members are already assigned, while 3 remain free for support.
Why It Matters:
- Physician & Staff Satisfaction:
When stakeholders know where they need to be, when they’re needed, and who they’re working with, satisfaction improves. The Bullpen creates visibility and structure—leading to better team dynamics and reduced burnout among clinical staff. - Surgical Throughput:
Faster, more accurate assignments lead to fewer delays between cases. When the right team members are in the right place at the right time, you unlock more surgical volume without sacrificing quality. - Clear Communication:
Leap Rail consolidates assignment visibility in one centralized platform. Everyone from perioperative leaders to charge nurses can easily see who's been assigned to which case—on the Leap Board or from any mobile device. This visibility is especially valuable when managing across teams with different reporting structures or when floaters are moving between cases. - Mobile Power:
Whether you're rounding on the floor or managing multiple ORs, Leap Rail’s mobile access gives you the power to check staff assignments on the go. No more running back to the main board or relying on texts and whiteboards. - Custom Workflow Automation:
Need to notify a scrub tech when they’ve been assigned to a new case? Want to alert anesthesia of their suite lineup for the day? With Leap Rail’s extensive workflow automation capabilities, notifications can be fully customized and automated—ensuring the right people are alerted with the right details every time. This reduces delays, eliminates manual follow-ups, and strengthens communication across the board.
From Reactive to Proactive
With Leap Rail, OR staffing is no longer a reactive, manual scramble. Instead, it's a proactive, digital-first process driven by real-time visibility and performance data. Leaders gain valuable insights into how well their resources are utilized, and staffing can be adjusted strategically to improve case flow and reduce costs.
Surgical departments run best when the right people are in the right place at the right time. With Leap Rail’s Bullpen, managing stakeholders and staff assignments is no longer a juggling act—it’s a strategic advantage. Think of it as your playbook for getting the right lineup on the field—case after case, day after day.
Ready to see it in action? Contact us for a demo to learn how Leap Rail can help streamline staffing in your OR.