Surgical Documentation

The challenge of O.R. documentation

Along with the development of advanced technologies to support the O.R. team comes an increase in data volume and detail. This information overload, if not properly managed, can lead to major delays before, during, and after surgery as well as difficulty with operating room documentation. From an IT perspective, uncontrolled patient data can bog down processes and occupy essential storage space in the hospital information system.

Illustration depicting the challenges of documentation in the O.R.

Unlocking the full potential of surgical data

One of the top priorities of digital operating rooms is to streamline, simplify and consolidate this influx of data to free up time for not only the surgeon, but the entire surgical and hospital IT team. Brainlab Digital O.R.s work in many configurable ways to ensure smooth data workflows and a modern approach to surgical documentation.

With multi-touch Buzz acting as the only integrated central interface, a clear overview of all patient data is easy to maintain. Digital O.R.s have the potential to save the surgical team time and costs through the entire workflow, both inside and outside the operating room.

Instant documentation

During surgery, the surgeon can record video or take screenshots from any connected external video sources, such as endoscope, microscope or lamp camera, as well as applications running on Buzz. Information from O.R. tracking applications, such as surgical checklists and time tracking, is automatically exported to the patient record in the HIS and available immediately after surgery.

Immediate data access

Post-surgery, documentation is automatically or manually transferred to the preferred picture archive or storage location (PACS, HIS, VNA, USB drive, Quentry Cloud Services) and is accessible immediately on any client PC or connected iPad through the hospital HIS for review or patient consultation.

Slim data storage

Surgical recordings can be saved in a temporary scalable storage server until they are edited with the Brainlab Video Editor, ensuring only the most relevant data is stored on the patient record in the HIS or downloadable in MP4 format.

Learn more about how Brainlab integrates information from HIS, PACS and VNA in the O.R. with a simple data node.

  1. HIMSS Europe, 2015. Auf den Spuren der Zeitdiebe im Krankenhaus: Die wahre Belastung durch Dokumentation an deutschen Akutkrankenhäusern wird unterschätzt

  2. HIMSS Europe, 2015. Auf den Spuren der Zeitdiebe im Krankenhaus: Die wahre Belastung durch Dokumentation an deutschen Akutkrankenhäusern wird unterschätzt

  3. Sinsky, C. et al., 2016. Allocation of Physician Time in Ambulatory Practice: A Time and Motion Study in 4 Specialties. Ann Inern Med, 165(11), pp. 753-760.