describe. "Can you do that without a system?" asks Dr. Sinha.
"Absolutely. But it's a bit easier with one."
In addition, AIMS have the ability to wrangle the reams of data that
providers need to document during the course of a case, including
patients' vital signs, the amount of inhalational gases used and the
injectable drugs administered, letting the providers focus on the
patient, not on recording data.
AIMS "has eased charge capture and coding for billing," says Dr.
Wechsler. Notes Dr. Friedman, "I can't imagine doing a case without
an AIMS anymore."
"All our ASCs have converted to electronic charting and AIMS," says
Dr. Lineberger. "Very efficient and helpful. The only liability is quick,
short cases, like an ENT peds room." As Dr. Stanfield points out, a
system that automatically gathers data will provide much more in the
way of time- and effort-savings than one in which much data entry is
dependent on the user,
and which might not
improve on paper
charts.
"Information is what
you do with it," admits
Dr. Sinha. So when
you talk to peers
about AIMS to educate
your purchasing deci-
sion, be sure to ask
"not just what do you
love about the system,
but also what are the
limitations of it? Find
out what are its poten-
tial applications? How
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | February 2015
