VCU Medical Center Anesthesia Department enhances patient care using digital documentation

By Sathya Achia Abraham

The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center has installed a new computerized information system for anesthesia in the operating room that enhances patient safety, quality of care and procedural efficiency.

The Department of Anesthesiology at the VCU Medical Center treats approximately 20,000 surgical patients per year. Forty-eight anesthesia work stations have been installed to facilitate patient charting in the operating rooms. The new system automatically collects records and organizes data during surgery, eliminating human error and inaccurate data recording. The system automatically records a patient’s vital signs every 15 seconds.

“We are among the first hospitals in the nation to employ digital documentation and delivery of anesthesia throughout its perioperative environment,” said Jeffrey A. Green, M.D., associate professor of anesthesiology at VCU.

“Drug use and all events occurring during surgery are also digitally documented accurately and in real-time,” he said. “This allows the anesthesiology team to focus on their first priority, patient care.”

The Innovian™ Anesthesia information system, from Draeger Medical Inc., interfaces with anesthesia machines and patient monitors to electronically create a detailed, digital record of everything that takes place during anesthesia.

The new system further enhances patient care by providing the anesthesiology team easy access to important patient information. According to Green, the system enables the healthcare team to quickly locate relevant patient data during surgery. Furthermore, he said the team is able to review any procedures previously performed on a specific patient to be more mindful of that patient’s special care requirements and to anticipate potential needs.

“With this sytem, the healthcare team’s attention and monitoring is on the patient, instead of on the paper record, which can be time consuming and distracting,’’ he said. “It also provides for quick and efficient access to medical information and patient information directly at the bedside in the operating room.”

The information system is designed to resemble a paper anesthesia record with a simple, logical touch screen, making it quick and easy to enter data into the patient record. In addition, the system stores a complete chronological history of the patient’s anesthesia care in its database.

“Using this database, we can quickly access data from tens of thousands of cases and utilize it in researching procedures and outcomes to redesign care practices,” said Carlos U. Arancibia, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at VCU. “As a result, we are better equipped to enhance patient safety, quality of care and procedural efficiency.”