Application of process improvement principles to increase the frequency of complete airway management documentation

摘要

Results: Immediately before the initial intervention, a retrospective review of 23,011 general anesthesia cases over 6 months showed that 13.2% of patient records included complete documentation. At the conclusion of the 13-month improvement effort, documentation improved to a completion rate of 91.6% (P < 0.0001). During the subsequent 21 months, the completion rate was sustained at an average of 90.7% (SD, 0.9%) across 82,571 general anesthetic records.Conclusion: Systematic application of process improvement methodologies can improve airway documentation and may be similarly effective in improving other areas of anesthesia clinical practice.