Patient Safety Perioperative Readiness Support System

Perioperative errors are an important problem: surgery is inherently dangerous, surgical patients are helpless, and the environment is chaotic, complex and dynamic. The rarity of any individual error type makes it difficult to identify and eliminate `common' intraoperative errors. To manage errors we need a comprehensive data capture and alert system, leading to improved a priori knowledge of the true incidence and characteristics of perioperative errors and near-misses. This project will develop and demonstrate a prototype of an interactive, patient-centered, PC-based data integration system to provide (1) explicit patient tracking, (2) recording and analysis of physiologic monitor data, (3) real-time readiness status of all relevant medical personnel and support systems, and (4) a complete device and personnel audit trail for every OR case. Prototype development will be informed by error and near-miss management research. The project brings together a multidisciplinary team from LiveData, CIMIT and the Massachusetts General Hospital `OR of the Future'. LiveData has expertise in real-time data integration and decision support for complex systems. The MGH team has expertise in creating the perioperative environment of the future. The proposed work furthers the goal of creating a `zone of safety' around surgical patients in the OR.