Is it possible to drive your anesthesia practice with data?
If you are used to documenting on paper, the idea of transitioning to an Anesthesia Information Management System (AIMS) can be overwhelming.
Even if the implementation and adoption goes smoothly, what are the long term advantages? Do they outweigh the challenges associated with the transition?
Many anesthesia practices have a similar set of questions that must be addressed:
For groups documenting electronically, what kind of data is available that is not to groups documenting on paper?
Can a cloud EMR actually help drive decision making for an anesthesia practice?
Anesthesia groups can be reticent to invest in an AIMS system as it is considered a sunk cost, not covered by subsidy. As a result, anesthesia has consistently lagged behind its healthcare peers in EMR implementation.
However, the factor that is often missed is just how many ways that an AIMS can help anesthesia practices. It’s more ways than you would expect. Today, we will look at clinical outcomes.
Focus first on the clinical workflow
Clinical workflow improvements should be the first priority. If it is indeed possible to streamline your documentation process and gain real-time access to anesthesia records in the cloud - your daily workflow can be significantly improved.
And it’s not just the anesthesia group that benefits.
Facility stakeholders appreciate the benefits of an AIMS system that enables deeper collaboration and communication. Features such as hard stop reminders facilitate the submission of complete records and reduce medical records/billing follow-up. This data then can flow into a structured analytics interface. Enabling informed decision making at all levels. Interfaces from the host facility system to the AIMS system speed the anesthesia workflow tremendously, providing enhanced face time with patients.
Gain access to discrete analytics
Without access to quality analytics, it can be impossible to effectively improve clinical outcomes. For example, data on pain scores can be related to anesthesia technique to eliminate post op narcotic use. Similar clinical studies on recovery time can be used to reduce PACU time and allow for additional cases added to the daily schedule.
Turnover time in the OR can be used by perioperative and anesthesia leadership to improve patient throughput. Digital records allow the entire perioperative team to follow the patient throughout the case, improving patient safety.
The pathway to a successful anesthesia group today relies on measuring these factors. Facility administrators are most often focused on cost, coverage and quality. However, when clinicians see how the clinical workflow not only is streamlined, but also empowers their daily practice with data, the value is undeniable. When administration sees the impact on revenue, the initial investment disappears.
Even though an anesthesia EMR can bring streamlined processes and improved revenue cycle management, the best long term advantage is when you can actually ensure that your clinical decision making is based on real time data from your clinicians.