Using Data and Technology for Perioperative Care

Data plays a role in all types of healthcare, but it’s especially essential in perioperative care. If your healthcare facility helps patients through surgeries, good data can improve efficiency, enable good decisions throughout the perioperative period and even save lives. Maintaining good data and having quick access to that data can mean the difference between a failed procedure and a successful surgery. Here’s what you need to know.

The Importance of Data in Perioperative Care

Data improves surgical outcomes and efficiency in your healthcare facility. Good data management goes hand in hand with good cost management and improved patient outcomes.

In the past, data was collected individually by healthcare providers, filed on paper at each facility and not shared consistently between departments. Accessing patient data was slow, and charts were difficult to read or interpret. Additionally, illegibility was a problem in handwritten notes.

Today, digitization has changed everything. Digitizing patient data allows your facility to make patient data universally available for each department. This allows each healthcare provider to use patient data to make informed decisions.

Anesthesia Information Management Systems (AIMS)

Paper charting still exists in healthcare facilities, but the most advanced facilities have taken steps to digitize their data. Transitioning to an anesthesia information management system (AIMS) can be challenging. This is why many healthcare facilities partner with CCI Anesthesia: we help our clients transition to electronic medical records. Contact us to learn how partnering with CCI Anesthesia can help your healthcare facility.

There are many benefits to implementing AIMS:

Reduced drug wastage
Faster OR turnover
Better PACU management
Improved patient outcomes
Improved patient experience
Faster, easier access to patient data

Unfortunately, transitioning to AIMS can be difficult for healthcare facilities to manage alone. The time and expense of the training and support required can leave many healthcare facilities intimidated by the process. This is why so many healthcare facilities turn to the experts at CCI Anesthesia.

Does your facility want to make the transition? Here are the steps to take:

Select the right vendor. Many systems digitize patient records. Your healthcare facility must know your goals and needs, demo different systems and choose the right vendor.
Customize to the practice’s needs. Many vendors can customize their system to the needs of the facility and patient. Work with your vendor to customize your system.
Train providers and ensure data accuracy. Providers must be trained to use their new data management system to ensure all patient data is entered accurately.
Troubleshoot challenges during AIMS implementation. During AIMS implementation, the facility must troubleshoot problems to ensure the new system meets their needs.

Leveraging Data for Operational Efficiency

Real-time data and analytics improve clinical and administrative decision-making. No longer will your providers struggle to read patient charts. The consistency and legibility of digitized records help providers make fast decisions regarding patient care.

Over time, having good digitized data at your fingertips can help you identify inefficiencies in your practice. With digitized data, you can optimize staffing models while reducing costs.

What kind of data your facility collects will depend on the unique characteristics of your facility. At a minimum, the following data should be collected:

Diagnosis
Patient identifier
Medications
Patient demographics
Procedure records
Lab data
Surveys
Vital signs

Work with your healthcare providers to determine what type of data should be collected by your organization.

Documentation and Compliance

Accurate documentation is essential for compliance, benchmarking and billing purposes. To ensure that the data is useful for these purposes, the data your facility collects must be accurate and complete.

Many facilities rely on checklists to ensure each patient receives proper postoperative care. Since digitized data is always legible and consistent from one chart to the next, it’s easier to use this data for compliance. Regular auditing and using checklists to maintain high-quality data is one way your facility can ensure that its digitized data is as useful as possible.

CCI Anesthesia’s Role in Data-Driven Perioperative Care

CCI Anesthesia offers expertise in transitioning anesthesia departments to AIMS. We use tablet-based EMRs and advanced analytics to monitor operational efficiency and quality metrics. We’re committed to maintaining data accuracy through regular reviews and education. We understand there are many measurable client outcomes to switching to an AIMS system, including reduced costs, improved efficiency and better patient outcomes. We want your facility to benefit from digitized records, starting with successfully transitioning to AIMS.

Our perioperative care experts will help walk you through the process and discuss the benefits of working with CCI Anesthesia. Do you want to know more about partnering with CCI Anesthesia?