Anesthesiology clinics
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Anesthesiology clinics · Sep 2011
ReviewQuality improvement using automated data sources: the anesthesia quality institute.
The Anesthesia Quality Institute has created the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry to automatically capture electronic data specific to anesthesia cases. Data come from billing systems, quality management systems, hospital electronic health care records, and anesthesia information management systems. Aggregation of this data will allow for calculation of national and cohort-specific benchmarks for anesthesia outcomes of interest. Provision of this data to anesthesia practitioners through periodic private reports will motivate improvements in the quality of care.
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Adoption of information systems throughout the hospital environment has enabled the development of real-time physiologic alerts and clinician reminder systems. These clinical tools can be made available through the deployment of anesthesia information management systems (AIMS). ⋯ Various successful implementations are reviewed, encompassing cost reduction, improved revenue capture, timely antibiotic administration, and postoperative nausea and vomiting prophylaxis. Challenges to the widespread use of real-time alerts and reminders include AIMS adoption rates and the difficulty in choosing appropriate areas and approaches for information systems support.
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Anesthesiology clinics · Sep 2011
ReviewThe use of computers for perioperative simulation in anesthesia, critical care, and pain medicine.
Simulation in perioperative anesthesia training is a field of considerable interest, with an urgent need for tools that reliably train and facilitate objective assessment of performance. This article reviews the available simulation technologies, their evolution, and the current evidence base for their use. The future directions for research in the field and potential applications of simulation technology in anesthesia, critical care, and pain medicine are discussed.
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Anesthesiology clinics · Sep 2011
ReviewIntegration of the enterprise electronic health record and anesthesia information management systems.
Fewer than 5% of anesthesia departments use an electronic medical record (EMR) that is anesthesia specific. Many anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) have been developed with a focus only on the unique needs of anesthesia providers, without being fully integrated into other electronic health record components of the entire enterprise medical system. To understand why anesthesia providers should embrace health information technology (HIT) on a health system-wide basis, this article reviews recent HIT history and reviews HIT concepts. The author explores current developments in efforts to expand enterprise HIT, and the pros and cons of full enterprise integration with an AIMS.
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Anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) have become more prevalent as more sophisticated hardware and software have increased usability and reliability. National mandates and incentives have driven adoption as well. ⋯ Irrespective of the development model, the best AIMS have a feature set that allows for comprehensive management of workflow for an anesthesiologist. Key features include preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative documentation; quality assurance; billing; compliance and operational reporting; patient and operating room tracking; and integration with hospital electronic medical records.