Anesthesia Information Management Systems: Almost There

Technology diffusion of anesthesia information management systems into academic anesthesia departments in the United States

BACKGROUND

Anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) are electronic health records that automatically import vital signs from patient monitors and allow for computer-assisted creation of the anesthesia record. When most recently surveyed in 2007, it was estimated that at least 16% of U.S. academic hospitals (i.e., with an anesthesia residency program) had installed an AIMS. At least an additional 28% reported that they were in the process of implementing, or searching for an AIMS. In this study, we updated the adoption figures as of May 2013 and examined the historical trend of AIMS deployment in U.S. anesthesia residency programs from the perspective of the theory of diffusion of technologic innovations.

METHODS

Questionnaires were sent by e-mail to program directors or their identified contact individuals at the 130 U.S. anesthesiology residency programs accredited as of June 30, 2012 by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The questionnaires asked whether the department had an AIMS, the year of installation, and, if not present, whether there were plans to install an AIMS within the next 12 months. Follow-up e-mails and phone calls were made until responses were obtained from all programs. Results were collected between February and May 2013. Implementation percentages were determined using the number of accredited anesthesia residency programs at the start of each academic year between 1987 and 2013 and were fit to a logistic regression curve using data through 2012.

RESULTS

Responses were received from all 130 programs. Eighty-seven (67%) reported that they currently are using an AIMS. Ten programs without a current AIMS responded that they would be installing an AIMS within 12 months of the survey. The rate of AIMS adoption by year was well fit by a logistic regression curve (P = 0.90).

CONCLUSIONS

By the end of 2014, approximately 75% of U.S. academic anesthesiology departments will be using an AIMS, with 84% adoption expected between 2018 and 2020. Historical adoption of AIMS has followed Roger's 1962 formulation of the theory of diffusion of innovation.

Automated near-real-time clinical performance feedback for anesthesiology residents: one piece of the milestones puzzle

BACKGROUND

Anesthesiology residencies are developing trainee assessment tools to evaluate 25 milestones that map to the six core competencies. The effort will be facilitated by development of automated methods to capture, assess, and report trainee performance to program directors, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the trainees themselves.

METHODS

The authors leveraged a perioperative information management system to develop an automated, near-real-time performance capture and feedback tool that provides objective data on clinical performance and requires minimal administrative effort. Before development, the authors surveyed trainees about satisfaction with clinical performance feedback and about preferences for future feedback.

RESULTS

Resident performance on 24,154 completed cases has been incorporated into the authors' automated dashboard, and trainees now have access to their own performance data. Eighty percent (48 of 60) of the residents responded to the feedback survey. Overall, residents "agreed/strongly agreed" that they desire frequent updates on their clinical performance on defined quality metrics and that they desired to see how they compared with the residency as a whole. Before deployment of the new tool, they "disagreed" that they were receiving feedback in a timely manner. Survey results were used to guide the format of the feedback tool that has been implemented.

CONCLUSION

The authors demonstrate the implementation of a system that provides near-real-time feedback concerning resident performance on an extensible series of quality metrics, and which is responsive to requests arising from resident feedback about desired reporting mechanisms.

Integration 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.

Anatomy of an anesthesia information management system

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. AIMS can be developed in one of several software models (Web based, client/server, or incorporated into a medical device). 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.

Quality 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.

Anesthesia information management systems: a review of functionality and installation considerations

The functionality and rate of implementation of Anesthesia Information Management Systems (AIMS) has markedly risen over the past decade. These systems have now become much more than the generic automated record keepers, originally proposed and developed in the 1980s. AIMS have now become complex integrated systems, which have been shown to improve patient care and, in some cases, the financial performance of a department. Although the underlying technology has improved greatly over the past 5 years, the process of selecting and completing an AIMS installation still presents a number of challenges, and must be approached carefully in order to maximize the benefits provided by these systems.

Anesthesia information management systems

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review will summarize and comment upon recent developments in the evolution and implementation of anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) in current practice.

RECENT FINDINGS

Availability of inexpensive hardware components has greatly reduced costs, and AIMS are now widely available as 'off-the-shelf' software systems, yet AIMS are currently in use in only a minority of institutions and anesthetic practices. AIMS have evolved rapidly from simple automated record-keeping systems to key components of modern medical information networks. The databases generated by AIMS are becoming the basis for establishing 'best practices' and for comparing patient care outcomes.

SUMMARY

The searchable, timed, and dated perioperative documentation generated by an AIMS appears to be an evolving requirement for contemporary anesthetic practice. The obstacles to more widespread AIMS adoption appear to be behavioral and financial rather than technical.