Abstract
Health care has been transformed by computerization, and the use of electronic health record systems has become widespread. Anesthesia information management systems are commonly used in the operating room to maintain records of anesthetic care delivery. The perioperative environment and the practice of anesthesia generate a large volume of data that may be reused to support clinical decision-making, research, and process improvement. Anesthesiologists trained in clinical informatics, referred to as informaticists or informaticians, may help implement and optimize anesthesia information management systems. They may also participate in clinical research, management of information systems, and quality improvement in the operating room or throughout a health care system. Here, we describe the specialty of clinical informatics, how anesthesiologists may obtain training in clinical informatics, and the considerations particular to the subspecialty of anesthesia informatics. Management of perioperative information systems, implementation of computerized clinical decision support systems in the perioperative environment, the role of virtual visits and remote monitoring, perioperative informatics research, perioperative process improvement, leadership, and change management are described from the perspective of the anesthesiologist-informaticist.
Highlights
The digital evolution of health care is occurring at an accelerating rate, and clinical practice is increasingly informed by software such as electronic health records (EHRs)
Artificial intelligence trained on this captured data may drive predictive analytics that inform clinical decision-making in real time in the operating room
We conclude with a brief review of perioperative informatics research and the role of the anesthesiologist-informaticist in leading and managing change in organizations, with particular focus on health care information technology as applied to the perioperative setting
Summary
The digital evolution of health care is occurring at an accelerating rate, and clinical practice is increasingly informed by software such as electronic health records (EHRs). The rapid generation of large quantities of electronic forms of patient data has benefits to health care including electronic storage, easy dissemination, and expanded use in research-, clinical-, or business-related processes. The perioperative environment is data-rich, and anesthesia care generates large quantities of patient data that may potentially be captured for later secondary clinical or operational use [1,2]. Data in health care has been described as “big data,” and its increase in quantity, variety, and rapidity of data generation has defied legacy attempts at storage and use [3]. This change has necessitated the development of the discipline of biomedical informatics and the subdiscipline of clinical informatics. JMIR Perioper Med 2022 | vol 5 | iss. 1 | e32738 | p. 1 (page number not for citation purposes)
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