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The Airway Dashboard: Harnessing Informatics for Targeted Assessment and Improvement of Airway Performance for
Christian R W Gerhart1, Robbie Paulsen1, William E Freeman1
1Department of Emergency Medicine Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis St. Louis Missouri USA.
Background:
Airway management is a core competency for emergency medicine faculty and residents. Objective evaluation of procedural performance is crucial for assessment of competency and to guide further educational efforts. Here, we describe a dashboard capable of providing personalized, granular data specifically for airway management performance using the electronic medical record (EMR) to create a continuously updated database.
Objective Of Innovation:
The objective of this innovation was to utilize data from the medical record to create a personalized, dynamic, and data-driven resource to allow quality and educational leaders within the department to promote excellence in airway management.
Development Process And Implementation:
Using concepts from other departmental dashboards, the author group collaborated with informatics experts to develop a data extraction tool to pull data from the EMR into a secure PowerBI platform that updates every 24 h. Key data elements include first attempt success, equipment utilization, and preoxygenation strategies. Dashboard data is currently being utilized for departmental airway quality monitoring, as well as individual performance assessment for both residents and faculty.
Outcomes:
Creation of the dashboard allowed for a departmental-level analysis of performance, which triggered a review of areas for potential quality improvement. This led to a department-wide initiative to address these areas for growth. Key components were the development of a standardized departmental approach to intubation and a structured strategy for coaching intubation disseminated to all faculty.
Conclusion:
In summary, utilization of an airway dashboard which pulls data directly from the EMR allows for the creation of a tool that provides precise, personalized data that has wide-ranging applications for quality improvement and education.
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