The Anesthesia Quality Institute was chartered in 2009, and it began collecting case data in the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcome Registry (NACOR) on January 1, 2010. NACOR was designed to harness the power of the Information Age by aggregating and analyzing large quantities of data. Unlike traditional registries that depend on a trained abstractor to examine medical records and pull out the facts of interest, NACOR accumulates data by direct reporting from the electronic health records (EHR) that are in use every day, including administrative systems such as the ABC billing software and clinical support systems such as ePreop. As anesthesia practices become increasingly digital — driven by the “meaningful use” requirements of the federal government discussed elsewhere in this issue of the Communiqué — even larger quantities and types of data will be available. The barrier is no longer the creation of digital records; it is now the enormous challenge...

New Technology Enables Anesthesiologists and Pain Management Specialists to Attest to Meaningful UseWith the deadline fast approaching, more and more anesthesiologists are wondering if there is a quick and easy way to qualify for the Medicare Meaningful Use Incentive.The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program provides a financial incentive of up to $44,000 per provider for achieving "meaningful use," which is the use of certified electronic health record(EHR) technology to achieve health and efficiency goals. Stage 1 EHR meaningful use is based on core and menu objectives for eligible professionals as outlined by CMS—which are intended to set a baseline for electronic data capture and information sharing.ABC Can Help You Reap the Benefits of Meaningful Use Through Full EHR with F1RSTUseAnesthesia Business Consultants, LLC (ABC) is pleased to offer the anesthesia community a first—a viable way for anesthesiology and pain management practices to attest to Stage 1 Meaningful Use. Introducing F1RSTUse,...

We are in the fifth year of Medicare’s Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and most anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists are at least aware of the program, even if they are not participating.  Now it is the turn of the ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) to start reporting quality measures to CMS or face payment penalties.Not only are anesthesiologists generally involved in the quality and safety protocols that ASCs must report, many are in leadership or management positions in their ASCs and have a particular interest in compliance with reporting requirements.  Whether or not they are directly responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the reporting—the new ASC requirements do not in any way require anesthesiologists to report any measures, but some may voluntarily assume the role within and for their facility—ASC anesthesiologists will benefit from understanding what procedural changes the facility is making, and why. Beginning October 1, 2012, the ASC Quality Reporting...

Does the title of this article seem boring – or “timeless,” for readers in a more generous mood? If the answer to either question is yes, that is not altogether a bad thing. The United States Supreme Court decision upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act alleviated much uncertainty about healthcare reform and all of its ramifications, at least until after the November elections. Trends in the delivery of healthcare that began some time ago will continue. “The coming years will bring continued dealmaking and greater scrutiny of hospital and physician performance on quality and cost control,” as speakers said at the June 2012 Healthcare Financial Management Association Annual National Institute. Quality, safety and practice management are as important as ever to the future of anesthesia practice. Richard P. Dutton, MD, MBA, Executive Director of the Anesthesia Quality Institute, bridges the small valley between traditional mortality and morbidity (M&M) conferences...

  The Anesthesia Quality Institute was founded to create and maintain the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry (NACOR). This project is now two and a half years old and more than 135 practices, including nine ABC clients, have contributed more than 5 million records to this “every case, every day” registry. Participants have online access to the NACOR Reporting Server, where they can see continually updated summaries of their practice performance and aggregated national benchmarks. This information, and the ability to slice and dice it to examine subsets of interest, is an important business and quality management tool. After all, what can’t be measured can’t be improved. Or can it? Although we pride ourselves on our data-driven, scientific, high-tech practice, anesthesiology remains as much art as science. As the popularity of morbidity and mortality conferences attests, there is a lot to be learned from the unfortunate experience of others. Schadenfreude aside,...