Efficiency and Technology
An OR/ICU Management System Unlike Any Other
 "No one has ever done this before. We have no models to look at, so it's a very challenging project. Now that pilot testing has started, we're seeing it begin to take shape and make a difference."
Kelly Gammon, project leader, Information Services  "What we're doing has never been done to this extent. It's exciting to be involved in it from the beginning."
Joseph Previte, MD, Staff Anesthesiologist |
In September 2002, Cincinnati Children's launched a multimillion dollar project to build a comprehensive operating room/critical care unit information system unlike any other in the United States.
It will track patients' progress at every step, from registration for surgery through recovery and discharge. It will dramatically improve efficiency in scheduling surgery and managing surgical supplies. It will make use of "smart" monitors that provide more detailed information to clinicians than traditional bedside monitors.
Since many patients come to the operating room from one of our three intensive care units, or go to the ICU after surgery, it will assure a free flow of information between the OR and the ICUs and will meet the specialized documentation needs in these areas of the hospital.
And it will be fully networked with other components of our clinical information system, creating a truly comprehensive record of the patient's medical and surgical history.
Who's at the table designing this system? Anesthesiologists, surgeons, intensive care physicians, nurses, schedulers, materials managers, computer programmers and application specialists, educators and others. This collaborative approach has become the hallmark of the Cincinnati Children's approach to planning and implementing new information technology systems. It's the best way to be sure that the systems meet the needs of the users.
Steady Progress
Over the last year, a series of teams spent many months doing the painstaking work, behind the scenes, that will result in more efficient, safer care for children.
Joseph Previte, MD, leads the anesthesia documentation team, which has created templates for every type of surgery performed at Cincinnati Children's and dosing guidelines for every medication used in the operating room, standardized for the age and weight of the child. These templates and
guidelines are essential components of the online anesthesia documentation system. Pilot testing of this system began in August.
 "The patient in the room is our priority. Our goal is to use technology and improved processes so we can keep the patient at the center of our attention."
Kathleen Blair, RN, MSN, team manager, Operating Room |
A team of nurses consolidated and verified information from over 5,000 handwritten cards summarizing surgeons' preferences for every type of operation and put that information online. To improve efficiency, the information was linked to new online scheduling and inventory control systems, which went into use in August. Now when an operation is scheduled, a list of every instrument and supply that particular surgeon wants for that particular procedure is available to those who stock the supply carts and deliver surgical supplies to the operating rooms.
The same preference data gives surgical nurses information about how to position and drape the patient for the operation and advance knowledge of the instruments the surgeons will be using.
Work continues to develop specialized nursing
documentation templates and other components of the operating room/critical care unit information
system, which will be phased in over the coming year.
