AQI Leader’s Keynote Address to Somnia Clinical Leaders Advocates National Culture of Honest Incident Reporting
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (December 17, 2012) – The importance of tracking anesthesia quality data, including honest reporting of sentinel and adverse events, was the subject of a keynote address by Richard P. Dutton, MD, MBA at Somnia Anesthesia’s annual leadership retreat in New Rochelle, New York on December 6. Dr. Dutton, executive director of the Anesthesia Quality Institute (AQI), advocated for a culture where clinicians “aren’t afraid to talk about what went wrong.” The AQI was established in 2009 by the American Society of Anesthesiologists as part of its quality improvement mission.
During his presentation, “Anesthesia Quality and Leadership,” Dr. Dutton told the audience of approximately 50 anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists and administrators from throughout the United States that “the more you know, the better you do” and that successful clinical anesthesia leaders use the information gathered – including reports of adverse events – to make data-driven improvements in care. He explained the role of the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry, which is a key AQI initiative and collects de-identified patient data from 220 participating anesthesiology practices. Somnia was the first anesthesia-only practice management organization to join this effort, which as of today has collected data on more than 7,000,000 cases.
Dr. Dutton also emphasized the value anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists bring to healthcare facilities beyond their primary role of administering anesthesia in the operating room and other clinical settings. He stressed that anesthesia providers are the “drivers of patient flow” and therefore can help hospitals and surgery centers make significant improvements in efficiency.
About Somnia Anesthesia
Somnia Anesthesia optimizes anesthesia services for healthcare facilities throughout the country by combining clinical excellence with unparalleled management acumen. Owned and operated by anesthesiologists since 1996, Somnia provides a turnkey, solutions-based approach to anesthesia management. With an extensive in-house infrastructure and a single-minded focus on anesthesiology, Somnia builds and manages local anesthesia teams that consistently deliver the highest quality patient care, enhance operating room performance, increase revenues, and achieve full surgeon and patient satisfaction. For more information visit: www.somniainc.com.
Contact:
Laura Herrera
914.637.3536
[email protected]