Accuracy of data obtained from post-anesthesia visits

Abstract

© 2018, Medical Association of Thailand. All rights reserved. Objective: To assess the accuracy of data obtained from post-anesthesia visits conducted by nurse anesthetists, to quantify patient satisfaction with those visits, and to determine the time and the walking distances incurred while undertaking the visits. Materials and Methods: A retrospective and cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. Data relating to 101 patients who had experienced complications that had been reported to the hospital’s Risk Management Unit were retrieved. Subsequently, data on the patients were extracted from their post-anesthetic records and compared with several other databases. The level of documentation accuracy, types of data entry inaccuracies, and patient satisfaction levels were evaluated. In addition, the time, distance, and number of steps involved while each nurse executed their daily post-anesthesia visits were recorded. Results: The post-anesthesia visit data were found to have an inaccuracy rate of 81.2%. There was no significant difference in the demographic data for the accurate and inaccurate patient-groups. On a 5-point rating scale, patient satisfaction with the nurse anesthetists’ visits was 4.49±0.65. The nurse anesthetists spent an average of 4.03±1.16 hours walking, representing a distance of2.34 kilometers, to conduct a mean of31 patient visits daily. Conclusion: Accuracy, relevance, completeness, timeliness, and confidentiality as the basis of quality medical records are required to improve the standard of anesthetic care. Systematic problem solving for the post-anesthesia visit process should be conducted.