Major incidents and complications in otherwise healthy patients undergoing elective procedures: results based on 1.37 million anaesthetic procedures.

BACKGROUND: Improved anaesthesia safety has made severe anaesthesia-related incidents, complications, and deaths rare events, but concern about morbidity and mortality in anaesthesia continues. This study examines possible severe adverse outcomes or death recorded in a large national surveillance system based on a core data set (CDS). METHODS: Cases from 1999 to 2010 were filtered from the CDS database. Cases were defined as elective patients classified as ASA physical status grades I and II (without relevant risk factors) resulting in death or serious complication. Four experts reviewed the cases to determine anaesthetic involvement. RESULTS: Of 1 374 678 otherwise healthy, ASA I and II patients in the CDS database, 36 met the study inclusion criteria resulting in a death or serious complication rate of 26.2 per million [95% confidence interval (CI), 19.4-34.6] procedures, and for those with possible direct anaesthetic involvement, 7.3 per million cases (95% CI, 3.9-12.3). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study assessing severe incidents and complications from a national outcome-tracking database. Annual identification and review of cases, perhaps with standardized database queries in the respective departments, might provide more detailed information about the cascades that lead to unfortunate outcomes.

National critical incident reporting systems relevant to anaesthesia: a European survey.

BACKGROUND: Critical incident reporting is a key tool in the promotion of patient safety in anaesthesia. METHODS: We surveyed representatives of national incident reporting systems in six European countries, inviting information on scope and organization, and intelligence on factors determining success and failure. RESULTS: Some systems are government-run and nationally conceived; others started out as small, specialty-focused initiatives, which have since acquired a national reach. However, both national co-ordination and specialty enthusiasts seem to be necessary for an optimally functioning system. The role of reporting culture, definitional issues, and dissemination is discussed. CONCLUSIONS: We make recommendations for others intending to start new systems and speculate on the prospects for sharing patient safety lessons relevant to anaesthesia at European level.

[Professional image of anesthetists in the general public. Influence of provision of information and previous experience with the discipline]. / Berufsbild des Anästhesisten in der Öffentlichkeit. Einfluss von Vorinformation und Vorerfahrungen mit dem Fach.

BACKGROUND: The profession of the anesthetist in Germany includes the disciplines anesthesia, intensive care, emergency and pain medicine. Despite the versatility and competence of the profession, patients do not appear to have recognized anesthesiology as a medical discipline or anesthetists as medical doctors. AIM: This study was conducted with the aim of estimating how previous experience and information gathered before contact with the anesthetist for premedication have influenced and changed the perception of patients with regards to the professional fields and the characteristics of anesthetists. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 3,950 patients from 3 German hospitals were asked to answer a questionnaire handed out by the assistance nurse in the premedication area prior to the medical consultation with the duty anesthetist. The questions involved the patient perception of the discipline, the characteristics of anesthetists and also evaluated the patient previous experience and provision of information. According to the answers 1,753 patients were considered eligible for the study and were categorized into subgroups I-IV (group I interested and experienced with operations, group II interested but inexperienced, group III uninterested but experienced and group IV neither interested nor experienced) for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Of the respondents 56.2 % had obtained previous information from a general practitioner followed by acquaintances (21.4 %) and the internet (19.9 %), which significantly differed with age. Interested and experienced patients showed the best perception of the profession. Often, the knowledge of interested and uninterested persons did not significantly differ. Interested patients and those with experience of anesthesiology had the best knowledge of anesthesiology. Performing anesthesia was most often identified by all groups (50.9-95.3 %) as a function of anesthetists while the other professional fields were recognized correctly by only 5.8-26.6 %. Depending on the group 41.0-84.4 % regarded anesthetists as medical doctors. Only 15.0-78.3 % of other attributes were associated with anesthetists. CONCLUSION: Unfortunately, the perception of patients on the versatility and characteristics of anesthetists are poorly developed. However, the knowledge differs significantly depending on previous experience and gathered information. Interestingly patients with previous experience mostly showed better knowledge compared to interested patients. Results suggest that personal interaction, patient-physician communication in general and improved collaboration between general practitioners and anesthetists are the key elements for better patient knowledge, which could lead to increased patient satisfaction.

[Workflow management in the operating room. Analysis of potentials for optimizing efficiency at a university hospital]. / Ablauforganisation im Operationssaal : Analyse der Optimierungspotenziale an einem Universitätsklinikum.

BACKGROUND: The introduction of the diagnosis-related groups reimbursement system has increased cost pressures. Due to the interaction of many different professional groups, analysis and optimization of internal coordination and scheduling in the operating room (OR) is mandatory. The aim of this study was to analyze the processes at a university hospital in order to optimize strategies by identifying potential weak points. METHODS: Over a period 6 weeks before and 4 weeks after intervention processes time intervals in the OR of a tertiary care hospital (university hospital) were documented in a structured data collection sheet. RESULTS: The main reason for lack of efficiency of labor was underused OR utilization. Multifactorial reasons, particularly in the management of perioperative interfaces, led to vacant ORs. A significant deficit was in the use of OR capacity at the end of the daily OR schedule. After harmonization of working hours of different staff groups and implementation of several other changes an increase in efficiency could be verified. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that optimization of perioperative processes considerably contribute to the success of OR organization. Additionally, the implementation of standard operating procedures and a generally accepted OR statute are mandatory. In this way an efficient OR management can contribute to the economic success of a hospital.

Pre-operative fasting: a nationwide survey of German anaesthesia departments.

BACKGROUND: Shorter pre-operative fasting improves clinical outcome without an increased risk. Since October 2004, German Anaesthesiology Societies have officially recommended a fast of 2 h for clear fluids and 6 h for solid food before elective surgery. We conducted a nationwide survey to evaluate the current clinical practice in Germany. METHODS: Between July 2006 and January 2007, standardized questionnaires were mailed to 3751 Anaesthesiology Society members in leading positions requesting anonymous response. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 66% (n=2418). Of those, 2148 (92%) claimed familiarity with the new guidelines. About a third (n=806, 34%) reported full adherence to the new recommendations, whereas 1043 (45%) reported an eased fasting practice. Traditional Nil per os after midnight was still recommended by 157 (7%). Commonest reasons reported for adopting the new guidelines were: 'improved pre-operative comfort' (84%), and 'increased patient satisfaction' (83%); reasons against were: 'low flexibility in operation room management' (19%), and 'increased risk of aspiration' (13%). CONCLUSION: Despite the apparent understanding of the benefits from reduced pre-operative fasting, full implementation of the guidelines remains poor in German anaesthesiology departments.

[Simulation-based analysis of novel therapy principles. Effects on the efficiency of operating room processes]. / Simulationsbasierte Analyse neuer Therapieprinzipien. Auswirkungen auf die Leistungsfähigkeit der OP-Prozesse.

BACKGROUND: The introduction of innovative drugs in anesthesiological treatment has the potential to improve perioperative efficiency. This article examines the impact of the new muscle relaxant encapsulator Bridion on emergence from anesthesia and on the efficiency of the perioperative organization. METHODS: To analyze the effects of medical innovations, computer simulation was used as an experimental frame. The simulation was based on a realistic model of an operating room setting and used historical data to study the effect of innovation on the operational performance and the economic outcomes. RESULTS: The use of medical innovations in anesthesiological emergence yields new potentials for a hospital under certain conditions. Due to shorter block times and anesthesia-controlled times, additional benefits for the operating room could be realized. This results in an increase of up to 2.4% additional cases during similar working hours and planning periods. CONCLUSION: The introduction of innovative medicines may reveal more efficient and economical conditions in operating rooms. The overall result depends, for example, on the rate of application of the patient's portfolio or the organization and access rules of the surgical suite. Based on the anesthesia-controlled time no general a priori statement about the economic potentials can be confirmed. Future empirical studies should investigate the impact on quality and economic benefits for the entire patient pathway.

[Cost of intensive care in a German hospital: cost-unit accounting based on the InEK matrix]. / Kosten der intensivmedizinischen Versorgung in einem deutschen Krankenhaus : Kostenträgerstückrechnung basierend auf der InEK-Matrix.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the actual cost per intensive care unit (ICU) day in Germany based on routine data from an electronic patient data management system as well as analysis of cost-driving factors. A differentiation between days with and without mechanical ventilation was performed. METHODS: On the ICU of a German focused-care hospital (896 beds, 12 anesthesiology ICU beds), cost per treatment day was calculated with or without mechanical ventilation from the perspective of the hospital. Costs were derived retrospectively with respect to the period between January and October 2006 by cost-unit accounting based on routine data collected from the ICU patients. Patients with a length of stay of at least 2 days on the ICU were included. Demographic, clinical and economical data were analyzed for patient characterization. RESULTS: Data of 407 patients (217 male and 190 female) were included in the analysis, of which 159 patients (100 male, 59 female) were completely or partially mechanically ventilated. The mean simplified acute physiology (SAPS) II score at the onset of ICU stay was 28.2. Average cost per ICU day was 1,265 EUR and costs for ICU days with and without mechanical ventilation amounted to 1,426 EUR and 1,145 EUR, respectively. Personnel costs (50%) showed the largest cost share followed by drugs plus medicinal products (18%) and infrastructure (16%). CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, a cost analysis of intensive care in Germany was performed with routine data based on the matrix of the institute for reimbursement in hospitals (InEK). The results revealed a higher resource use on the ICU than previously expected. The large share of personnel costs on the ICU was evident but is comparable to other medical departments in the hospital. The need for mechanical ventilation increases the daily costs of resources by approximately 25%.

[Controlling and reporting in operating room management: analysis of the state of development]. / Controlling und Berichtswesen im OP-Management: Analyse des Entwicklungsstands.

The operating room (OR) is one of the most expensive facilities in most hospitals. The demands on a professional and process-oriented controlling and reporting in the OR are increased due to the increasingly more limited financial margins at the end of the diagnosis related groups (DRG) convergence phase. This study gives an overview of the current situation for cost calculation, controlling and reporting in OR management in German hospitals in 2007. The data from 69 hospitals were evaluated and this represents the largest currently available data pool on this topic.

[The optimization of a medicinal process and the organization of work in an operating-room].

In most hospitals, the operating-room is a most expensive therapeutic subdivision. A clear and understandable concept of organization of the management of a medical process in an operating room should be introduced into all clinics in order to satisfy increasing needs for professional and technological management. Within the framework of a promising management program to optimize a medical process and to organize work in the operating-room, the surgeons are provided with surgical equipment intended for an operating-room in accordance with their assessed needs and with their participation in budgeting, which made it possible to evaluate the efficiency of a medical process and the work of each user of an operating-room.

[Anaesthetists learn--do institutions also learn? Importance of institutional learning and corporate culture in clinics]. / Anästhesisten lernen--lernen Institutionen auch? Bedeutung von institutionellem Lernen und Unternehmenskultur in der Klinik.

In only a few contexts is the need for substantial learning more pronounced than in health care. For a health care provider, the ability to learn is essential in a changing environment. Although individual humans are programmed to learn naturally, organisations are not. Learning that is limited to individual professions and traditional approaches to continuing medical education is not sufficient to bring about substantial changes in the learning capacity of an institution. Also, organisational learning is an important issue for anaesthesia departments. Future success of an organisation often depends on new capabilities and competencies. Organisational learning is the capacity or processes within an organisation to maintain or improve performance based on experience. Learning is seen as a system-level phenomenon as it stays in the organisation regardless of the players involved. Experience from other industries shows that learning strategies tend to focus on single loop learning, with relatively little double loop learning and virtually no meta-learning or non-learning. The emphasis on team delivery of health care reinforces the need for team learning. Learning organisations make learning an intrinsic part of their organisations and are a place where people continually learn how to learn together. Organisational learning practice can help to improve existing skills and competencies and to change outdated assumptions, procedures and structures. So far, learning theory has been ignored in medicine, due to a wide variety of complex political, economic, social, organisational culture and medical factors that prevent innovation and resist change. The organisational culture is central to every stage of the learning process. Learning organisations move beyond simple employee training into organisational problem solving, innovation and learning. Therefore, teamwork and leadership are necessary. Successful organisations change the competencies of individuals, the systems, the organisation, the strategy and the culture.

[Statistical process control as a monitoring tool for the evaluation of reorganisation measures. Investigation in an intensive care unit]. / ''Statistische Prozesskontrolle'' als Monitoring-Tool zur Evaluierung von Reorganisationsmassnahmen. Untersuchung auf einer Intensivstation.

INTRODUCTION: The German health care system is currently in a constant state of flux owing to enhanced competition and to the increasing focus on economic aspects. Medical services, especially treatment processes, are being reorganised in an attempt to adapt them to the new economic challenges. Ideally, radical reorganisation and streamlining of medical therapy processes should be accompanied by controlling and quality management systems. The purpose of this is to monitor the intensity of any economic and any patient-related (side)-effects. Business management techniques are needed that allow online and long-term performance reviews of reorganisation measures once initiated. METHODS: In industry, the method applied for this purpose is statistical process control (SPC). The present study demonstrates for the first time that use of this monitoring tool can be extended to the medical sector. In an intensive care unit (ICU) the following process parameters were monitored: duration of sedation, time to persisting spontaneous breathing, length of stay in ICU, length of stay in hospital, patient mortality in ICU and in the next 30 days after admission to the ICU. Group 1 was made up of 87 patients examined before and group 2, 93 patients after process optimisation. The main feature of the reorganisation was application of a new analgo-sedation technique and of the weaning concept. RESULTS: In group 2 duration of sedation, time to spontaneous breathing and length of stay on the ICU were significantly shorter than in group 1. The length of stay in hospital, patient mortality in the ICU and 30 days after the initiation of intensive care did not differ significantly between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Economic and patient-related key figures can be evaluated with SPC. It allows online assessment both before and during process optimisation, and especially in the long term afterprocess optimisation.

[Analysis of personnel costs after reorganization of intensive care using calculated diagnosis-related groups comparative data. An investigation at the Charité Berlin]. / Analyse der Personalkosten nach Reorganisation der Intensivmedizin mithilfe kalkulierter DRG-Vergleichsdaten. Eine Untersuchung an der Charité, Berlin.

BACKGROUND: In an extensive project intensive care units (ICUs) of the Charité University Hospital were reorganized. The aim of this investigation was to determine if staff costs after this reorganization are financed by modular profits of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs). METHODS: Staff costs of all non-pediatric intensive care units, including ICUs, intermediate care units and post-anaesthesia care units (PACUs) in the Charité University Hospital were compared with the modular profits of all DRGs of patients older than 14 years in 2005. These DRGs were converted into the German refined DRG (GDRG) system 4.0 from 2006 with calculations based on actual income for medical doctors and nurses in 2006. Due to changed wage agreements for the incomes of physicians in 2006 there was an increase of costs. For the other professional groups an increase in income is expected, which cannot be estimated at present. RESULTS: The calculation revealed that staff costs of the ICUs at the Charité University Hospital based on a current German mean base rate of 2,836 EUR were 4.2% above the modular profits of the DRGs. As a result of a structural reorganization of the ICUs, the costs of staff could be adapted to the modular profits. Under the conditions of the actual reduced base rate of Berlin of 2,955 EUR the costs and profits were nearly equal. As the financial impact of the reorganization of the ICUs will take full effect in the coming years, it can be anticipated that with an expected base rate of 2,949 EUR in 2010 the intensive care medicine of a University hospital in Germany can become profitable. DISCUSSION: The spectrum of intensive care medicine at the Charité University Hospital covers the maximum range of operative and non-operative medicine. After an extensive reorganization of the ICUs under the aspect of staff costs, intensive care medicine can become profitable under the 4.0 G-DRG system. With consequent reorganization the cost efficiency of staff can be optimized, particularly in the setting of high-end intensive care medicine.

[Operative management in axillary brachial plexus blocks: comparison of ultrasound and nerve stimulation]. / Prozessmanagement bei axillären Plexusblockaden : Vergleich von Ultraschall und Nervenstimulation.

Given a case-by-case accounting system, the analysis of medical performance becomes increasingly important. Quality of treatment and the time effort attached play an important role. Anaesthesia procedures require a high level of quality and safety. Moreover, they are personnel intensive. In the area of regional anaesthesia, new procedures such as the use of high definition ultrasonography for nerve blocks, allow a possible time gain as well as improved quality. The aim of this investigation was to analyze the impact on time and results when using ultrasonography or nerve stimulation for axillary brachial plexus blocks. Therefore, over a time period of 9 months, the ultrasound-guided plexus anaesthesia (Sono) and the neurostimulation methods (NStim) were investigated based upon the anaesthesia documentation of patients undergoing hand surgery. Only those cases were included where an axillary brachial plexus block had been performed, incomplete protocols were excluded and 1.5% mepivacaine was used as medication. Overall, a total of 130 cases fulfilled these criteria. The success rates, time consumption and timelines were evaluated. All data was stored on an Excel-sheet and statistically evaluated. The results revealed a significant increase in the success rate for the patient group where ultrasound was used (98.2% Sono vs 83.1% NStim) and the operation could begin 15 min earlier in the Sono group (5 min vs. 20 min, p<0.001). Furthermore, the duration of anaesthesia was significantly shorter (85 min vs. 120 min, p<0.001) and the necessity for post-operative observation was less (5.4% vs. 32.4%, p<0.001). The data provided in the study indicate that the use of ultrasound for the identification of the nerves can clearly improve quality and time-scales of axillary brachial plexus blocks.

[Controlling systems for operating room managers]. / Controllinginstrumente für OP-Manager.

Management means developing, shaping and controlling of complex, productive and social systems. Therefore, operating room managers also need to develop basic skills in financial and managerial accounting as a basis for operative and strategic controlling which is an essential part of their work. A good measurement system should include financial and strategic concepts for market position, innovation performance, productivity, attractiveness, liquidity/cash flow and profitability. Since hospitals need to implement a strategy to reach their business objectives, the performance measurement system has to be individually adapted to the strategy of the hospital. In this respect the navigation system developed by Gälweiler is compared to the "balanced score card" system of Kaplan and Norton.

[Pharmacological peculiarities and problems with older patients]. / Pharmakologische Besonderheiten und Probleme des älteren Patienten.

Because of demographic developments, the fraction of the German population over 65 years of age in the year 2025 will have risen to 20% and will continue to rise so that in 2030 this number will have doubled compared to today's numbers. This has a huge impact on the requirements for anaesthesiologic procedures. In addition to the frequent multi-morbidity in this age group, physiologic changes also occur in the elderly which have to be taken into consideration during the entire perioperative management of these patients. Renal, cardiovascular and hepatic function are impaired in many elderly patients. A major concern in addition to cardiovascular and operative complications is the postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD), not only because of its implications for the patient but also because of economical consequences. Regional anaesthesia has some benefits when compared to general anaesthesia as it leads to a reduction in thromboembolic and respiratory complications.

[Organized pain management in the DRG reimbursement system]. / Organisierte Schmerztherapie im DRG-System.

Multidisciplinary pain management in pain centers can only be guaranteed if the DRG reimbursement system takes into account the multiple risk factors. The German pain associations prospectively analyzed clinical and administrative (DRG-related) data sets (n=3943) of inpatient and day care pain treatment facilities. The index diagnoses of 84% of the patient sample were grouped into nine basic DRGs. The most frequent pain procedure code was 8-918 ("multimodal pain management"). The minimal length of stay for this code set to 7 days was 17.2 days for the study sample. The DRG grouper software 2003 categorized 68.6% of the patients into PCCL 0 despite the proven complexity of risks and secondary diseases. The mean case weight in the sample was set at about 1. The pain-related data set analyzing pain severity, chronicity, and its influence on various functions emphasizes the total severity and burden of disease and thus the necessity for multimodal pain management. The German pain societies carried the motion that a new complex ICD code for chronic pain (with biopsychosocial consequences) should be established in the German Modification of the ICD. The new ICD code F62.80 and the procedure code 8-918 had not yet been implemented into the German DRG algorithm. Due to modifications in DRG systematics and the DRG algorithm, to be activated in 2005, the procedure code 8-918 will now automatically trigger into four special basic pain DRGs corresponding to the index pain diagnosis.