Surgical Scheduling Errors During Manual Data Transfer.

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Healthcare Administration
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Manual transcription of patient health information (PHI) in surgical scheduling is prone to human error.
• These errors can lead to claim denials, reduced efficiency, and potential patient harm.
• Prior authorization burdens contribute to treatment delays and abandonment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To simulate PHI transfer during surgical scheduling.
• To examine the error rate of experienced schedulers manually inputting data into electronic health records (EHR).
• To identify critical data points contributing to claim delays and denials.

Main Methods:

• 50 participants manually transcribed PHI from surgical forms into a simulated EHR.
• Eight critical data points were identified.
• Participants were assigned to a 10-minute or 18-minute transcription time group.
• Transcription errors were measured, and statistical significance was determined using two-tailed t-tests (P < .05).

Main Results:

• 100% of participants made at least one error per form.
• The 10-minute group exhibited a higher critical error rate than the 18-minute group (P = .03).
• 85.5% of completed forms contained critical errors, potentially delaying authorizations and payments.
• ICD-10 codes, CPT codes, authorization numbers, procedures, and insurance IDs were most error-prone.

Conclusions:

• Manual PHI transfer in surgical scheduling presents a significant challenge, leading to authorization and payment denials.
• Data degradation due to human error can accumulate at multiple transfer points.
• Healthcare institutions should explore digital solutions and enhanced training to minimize errors and improve efficiency.