A method and apparatus for an efficient optical proximity correction (OPC) repair flow is disclosed. Embodiments may include receiving an input data stream of an integrated circuit (IC) design layout, performing one or more iterations of an OPC step and a layout polishing step on the input data stream, and performing a smart enhancement step if an output of a last iteration of the OPC step fails to satisfy one or more layout criteria and if a number of the one or more iterations satisfies a threshold value. Additional embodiments may include performing a pattern insertion process cross-linked with the OPC step, the pattern insertion process being a base optical rule check (ORC) process.