Leveraging the EHR to Facilitate Efficient Surgical Audit: A Case Study from a Ophthalmic Private Practice

Surgeons agree over the importance of surgical audit associated with their practice especially given the benefits to patient care. Medical registration also requires audit as part of their requirements. Concerns over inefficiencies that can arise from duplication in data entry, led Eye Surgery Associates, a 16 doctor practice over 3 locations in Melbourne, to develop a new data entry and analysis system to facilitate audit as well as to maintain the practice's health records system in a way that addresses these inefficiencies. They did this in conjunction with IT professionals. Surgeons in our practice are highly positive about the new system which has attracted interest and likely future participation from the broader surgeon community.