SURVEY: 90% of Anesthesia Providers Believe Perioperative IT is a Strategic Driver of Success

ATLANTA, Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Surgical Information Systems ('SIS'), a leader in perioperative information systems, today released the results of a nationwide survey of anesthesiologists. The survey, conducted by an independent national polling organization, shows that moving to an electronic anesthesia record supports the goal of delivering high quality care at lower costs.

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As anesthesiologists convene in the nation's capital for Anesthesiology 2012 -- the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists -- education sessions, technology solutions, and conversation among attendees have focused around how providers are preparing for the 30 million newly insured patients set to enter the healthcare system under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). More specifically, discussions concentrated on how the practice of anesthesia can support rising case volumes and the need to capture data to meet regulatory and quality-based reimbursement requirements – as well as transforming data into easy-to-use, actionable information that demonstrates provider value to hospital administration.  These topics are top of mind for providers as they explore the capabilities of anesthesia information management systems (AIMS).

"Clearly, the move to specialized AIMS technology has reached its tipping point," stated Christine Doyle, M.D., Anesthesiologist, President, Coast Anesthesia Group. "Demands for mobile solutions that support my workflow and help me meet the challenges of increased OR throughput, improved patient outcomes, and reduced costs continue to increase, and anesthesiologists are looking to specialized IT solutions to optimize performance in the perioperative department."

According to the survey of 150 anesthesiologists, 67% see their case loads rise with 87% expecting to see this trend continue.  Ninety percent of anesthesiologists believe perioperative IT solutions are a strategic driver of success in the OR.  The survey also asked anesthesiologists to identify top strategies to accommodate this growth and reduce hospital costs:

• Sixty-three percent of respondents agree that efficiency improvements are needed to adapt to expected growth, with 75% reporting such improvements will also reduce costs.
• Sixty-seven percent see closely managing scheduling accuracy as the key to cost reduction.
• Sixty-three percent see more closely managing overall workflow as a valuable initiative.

While a significant majority of anesthesiologists surveyed (90%) agree that "information technology solutions are a strategic driver of success in the operating room," an overwhelming majority (99%) also agree that IT plays an important role in their job.

"As we've seen at Anesthesiology 2012 this year, the results of this survey are much more than academic -- they apply in the real world.  As OR caseloads continue to rise, technology will become even more essential to our ability to manage throughput and reduce costs," says Marc Paradis, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, and University of Connecticut Health Center. "Anesthesia-specific information solutions provide clinicians with the mobility and analytical tools needed to streamline the documentation process and improve workflow, allowing us to focus our attention on providing better patient care."

Anesthesiologists were also asked about important attributes that make a hospital desirable to practice in – with priorities revolving around efficiency, billing, and patient care. The top choices were "increased accuracy in billing" (79%), "automated anesthesia services billing processes" (77%), "more organized work day (less surprises) (77%), "high patient satisfaction ratings" (75%) and "automated anesthesia documentation" (73%).

The advent of AIMS empowers anesthesia providers with technology that addresses these priorities:

• Support for mobile devices to efficiently cover all anesthesia sites within a hospital
• Automated, workflow-driven documentation that maximizes caregiver time with patients
• AIMS system that automatically creates anesthesia billing data to improve billing accuracy and timeliness
• Advanced analytics capabilities that provide the ability to monitor and improve both efficiencies and outcomes, while managing costs
• Access to actionable day of surgery information to help optimize throughput and resource utilization, including adjusting to cases that are running late or ending early

"The ability to streamline OR workflow and boost efficiency to meet rising patient volumes is driving rapid adoption of Anesthesia Information Management Systems," says Ed Daihl, CEO of Surgical Information Systems. "SIS combines easy-to-use clinical tools, mobile accessibility, and robust analytics that brings critical anesthesia information into the electronic record both in the OR and throughout the hospital -- supporting the needs of anesthesiologists to deliver safe, efficient care while reducing costs."

About the Survey
SIS commissioned the study in which Penn Shoen Berland conducted online quantitative surveys among 150 anesthesia providers in the United States.  The margin of error is +/- 6.7%.

About SIS
Surgical Information Systems ("SIS") provides software solutions that are uniquely designed to add value at every point of the perioperative process. Developed specifically for the complex surgical environment, all SIS solutions—including anesthesia—are architected on a single database and integrate easily with other hospital systems. SIS offers the only surgical scheduling system and the only anesthesia information management system endorsed by the American Hospital Association (AHA), and rules-based charging and analytics solutions that have been granted Peer Reviewed status by the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). SIS is also the first AIMS provider to be designated as an AQI Preferred Vendor by the Anesthesia Quality Institute (AQI). SIS Anesthesia was rated #1 in the recently released anesthesia specialty report by KLAS.  In the report, AIMS 2012: Cooperation is Key, 100% of clients surveyed said they would buy SIS Anesthesia again.[1]  For more information, visit our website, www.SISFirst.com.

SIS, the SIS logo, and Surgical Information Systems are trademarks of Surgical Information Systems, LLC. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

[1] "AIMS 2012: Cooperation is Key," August, 2012. © 2012 KLAS Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved. www.KLASresearch.com

SOURCE Surgical Information Systems

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