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Anesth Analg 2007;104:592-597
© 2007 International Anesthesia Research Society
doi: 10.1213/01.ane.0000255707.98268.96

TECHNOLOGY, COMPUTING, AND SIMULATION

Electronic Reminders Improve Procedure Documentation Compliance and Professional Fee Reimbursement

Sachin Kheterpal, MD, MBA, Ruchika Gupta, MD, James M. Blum, MD, Kevin K. Tremper, PhD, MD, Michael O’Reilly, MD, MS, and Paul E. Kazanjian, MD

From the Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Address correspondence to Sachin Kheterpal, MD, MBA, 1H247 University Hospital Box 0048, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Address e-mail to sachinkh{at}med.umich.edu.

BACKGROUND: Medicolegal, clinical, and reimbursement needs warrant complete and accurate documentation. We sought to identify and improve our compliance rate for the documentation of arterial catheterization in the perioperative setting.

METHODS: We first reviewed 12 mo of electronic anesthesia records to establish a baseline compliance rate for arterial catheter documentation. Residents and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists were randomly assigned to a control group and experimental group. When surgical incision and anesthesia end were documented in the electronic record keeper, a reminder routine checked for an invasive arterial blood pressure tracing. If a case used an arterial catheter, but no procedure note was observed, the resident or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist assigned to the case was sent an automated alphanumeric pager and e-mail reminder. Providers in the control group received no pager or e-mail message. After 2 mo, all staff received the reminders.

RESULTS: A baseline compliance rate of 80% was observed (1963 of 2459 catheters documented). During the 2-mo study period, providers in the control group documented 152 of 202 (75%) arterial catheters, and the experimental group documented 177 of 201 (88%) arterial lines (P < 0.001). After all staff began receiving reminders, 309 of 314 arterial lines were documented in a subsequent 2 mo period (98%). Extrapolating this compliance rate to 12 mo of expected arterial catheter placement would result in an annual incremental $40,500 of professional fee reimbursement.

CONCLUSIONS: The complexity of the tertiary care process results in documentation deficiencies. Inexpensive automated reminders can drastically improve compliance without the need for complicated negative or positive feedback.




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Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999 HighWire Press
Copyright © 2007 by the International Anesthesia Research Society.