Surgically-related applications of computerized operating room data.

ORMIS data are currently used in a wide range of surgically-related applications--surgical activity reporting, graduate education and residency reporting, clinical research, surgically-related administration and surgical suite administration. Use of the system within Henry Ford Hospital has been increasing as it becomes better known and as its potential usefulness becomes better understood. Willingness to use ORMIS data depends, in large part, upon the perceived accuracy of the stored data and the ease with which these data can be retrieved and reported in a useful form. A high degree of confidence in ORMIS data has been achieved through considerable surgical staff involvement in the ongoing operation of the system. Surgeons participate in the coding of operative procedures, and the provision of surgeon-specific logs has established a feedback loop whereby surgeons can easily verify the accuracy of ORMIS data. Furthermore, special care has been taken to maintain the integrity of ORMIS data by developing extensive error detection and correction facilities. The multifaceted, successful applications reported herein show the increasing importance and usefulness of computerized data in contemporary surgical services.