ACGME Case Log Reminder Does Not Improve Resident Accuracy in Logging Cases

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Anesthesiology
• Health Informatics

Background:

• The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) relies on resident self-reported case logs for competency assessment.
• Current self-reporting mechanisms lead to underreporting of resident involvement in patient care.
• Accurate case logging is crucial for resident evaluation and program oversight.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of an intraoperative case log reminder in increasing ACGME case logging frequency among anesthesiology residents.
• To assess the impact of the reminder on case logging rates and lag time.
• To identify potential barriers to accurate case logging.

Main Methods:

• An intraoperative ACGME case log reminder was implemented for anesthesiology residents.
• Data on case logging and electronic medical records were collected for 53 residents over a one-year period.
• Proportion of cases logged and "lag time" between case occurrence and logging were calculated and analyzed.

Main Results:

• The reminder did not improve overall ACGME case logging rates.
• Case-logging rates for PGY2 residents were unchanged, while rates declined for PGY3 and PGY4 residents.
• The lag time between case occurrence and logging increased after reminder implementation.

Conclusions:

• An automatic intraoperative reminder is ineffective in improving ACGME case logging frequency.
• Barriers include inability to log intraoperatively and subjective participation thresholds.
• An automated system transmitting resident data directly to the ACGME may enhance logging accuracy.