The Utilization of Research Patient Database Software in ...



The Utilization of Research Patient Database Software in Plastic Surgery

Mark M. Melendez, MD, MBA; Xiaoti Xu, BS; Balvantray Arora, MD; Duc T. Bui, MD; Sami Kahn, MD; Kaveh Alizadeh, MD, MS, FACS; Alexander B. Dagum, MD, FRCS, FACS

INTRODUCTION: In this day and age of electronic medical records and increased use of advanced technologies in the field of plastic surgery, the majority of plastic surgeons are utilizing patient database software in their offices. The goal of patient management software is to provide critical information to the surgeon that may have a positive impact on their practice, surgical techniques, research activities and overall patient's outcome. Currently, there are a variety of database programs marketed to plastic surgeons with wide-ranging features and cost. The purpose of this study was to determine what type of research databases pertaining to patient information are currently being used by practicing plastic surgeons, the cost of such programs, and most desirable software features. Based on this data, we hope to develop a uniform, cost effective program for attendings, fellows and residents in plastic surgery.

METHODS: A web-based survey consisting of 23 questions was sent to plastic surgeons through the American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS) member list roster (Table 1). In addition, e-mail addresses of residents and fellows found on the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA) website were used. The responses were recorded and tabulated by the CTL SilhouetteTM system, an online data collection software for analysis.

|Where is your area of practice or training |Northeast |

|located? |Mideast |

| |West |

| |South |

|Your experience in the field of plastic surgery |0 - 2 years |

| |3 - 5 years |

| |6 -10 year |

| |11 - 20 years |

| |more than 20 years |

|Which of the following best describes your |Group Practice |

|practice? |Solo practice |

| |University-based practice |

| |Community hospital, university affiliated practice |

| |Community hospital, not university affiliated practice |

| |In-training |

|Are you currently using a patient database |Yes |

|software program in your workplace? |No |

|What is the name of the program being used? |ACDC Software |

| |Mirror Imaging |

| |Photofile |

| |TOPS |

| |Nextech |

| |Other |

| | |

| | |

|How much are you paying currently for your | |

|program? | |

|What kind of features does your software program|Basic data storage |

|have? |Scheduling |

| |Marketing |

| |Imaging |

| |Data collection & distribution |

| |Statistical data analysis |

| |Other |

|Have you considered changing your research |Use 0 if you are not considering; use 1-5 if you are considering, with |

|patient database software program? |1 being minimally considered, and 5 being seriously considered. |

|What features would you like to see in your |Store patient’s and surgeon’s information |

|current patient database software program? |Store types of procedures according to the CPT codes along with |

| |measurements |

| |Store photos |

| |Perform basic statistical analysis |

| |Easy search features |

| |Modifiable to the research project of interest |

| |User friendly |

| |Other |

|How satisfied are you with your current patient | Use 0 if you are not satisfied; use 1-5 if you are satisfied, with 1 |

|database software program? |being minimally satisfied, and 5 being greatly satisfied. |

|Would using a research patient database software|Use 0 if not interested; use 1-5 if interested, with 1 being minimally |

|program, with the capability of performing basic|interested, and 5 being greatly interested. |

|statistical analysis be of interest to you? | |

|How do you obtain information about purchasing a|American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) |

|practice management software program? |American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) |

| |Journals |

| |Web promotion |

| |Colleagues |

| |Other |

| | |

|Do you have a plan to purchase a practice |Yes |

|management software program for your practice |No |

|within a year? | |

|Who has authority to purchase software and |Yourself |

|services in your workplace? |Administrator |

| |Department |

|Do you think that using a patient database |Use 0 if you do not agree; use 1-5 if agree, with 1 being minimally |

|software program can enhance the efficiency, |agree, and 5 being strongly agree. |

|profitability and research activities at your | |

|workplace? | |

|What is your preferred method of purchasing |CD-rom |

|software? |Downloading from the web |

| |Installing service |

|Any additional comments? | |

Table 1

RESULTS: There were seventy-five (20.4 %) respondents including plastic surgeons, residents, and fellows. They represent 5 group practices, 28 solo surgeons, 32 university-based practices, 3 community hospital-university affiliated, 1 community hospital-not university affiliated and 6 residents/fellows in-training. Our data demonstrated that the most frequently patient database software programs used included Tracking Operations and Outcomes for Plastic Surgeons (TOPS), Mirror Imaging, Nextech, and Medics Elite. The cost of the software programs was highly variable, ranging from $0 to $12,000, excluding yearly maintenance and upgrades. We found that the most desirable features included easy search features, user friendly applicability, photo storage/management, and storage and access to patient information/procedures according to CPT codes with measurements (Fig. 1). When asked how information is obtained about the purchase of practice management software programs the majority of the respondents, forty-six, selected American Society of Plastic Surgeons whereas, forty-one, obtained information from colleagues. Fifty-five of the respondents moderately-strongly agree that using patient database software can enhance the efficiency, profitability and research activities in their practice. [pic]

Figure 1.

CONCLUSIONS: It appears that an ideal patient database would be one that is reasonably priced, user friendly, stores and retrieves patient information, in addition to performing statistical analysis with recorded measurements. A uniform research patient database software is needed to improve the practice of those in both the private and academic sector of plastic surgery. Research patient database programs are valuable tools for plastic surgeons, residents and fellows.

REFERENCES

1. Battistoni A, Pignatti M, Giovannini M. A Web Site Service for Plastic Surgeons: New Ideas for Patients’ Records. Plast Reconstr Surg 114(4):947-9.

2. Grunwald T, Krummel T, Sherman R. Advanced technologies in plastic surgery: how new innovations can improve our training and practice. Plast Reconstr Surg 114(6):1556-67.

3. Rhodes ND, Southern SJ. Digital operation notes: a useful addition to the written record. Ann Plast Surg 48(6):571-3.

4. Mendelsohn MS. Using a computer to organize digital photographs. Arch Facial Plast Surg 3(2):133-5.

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