Purpose To evaluate the feasibility of an internet‐based cataract surgical registry in a tertiary teaching hospital and compare the efficiency of a registry‐based, prospective cataract audit with retrospective methods. Setting Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Design A continuous time‐motion study. Methods The duration of pre‐ and postoperative cataract consultations were measured before and after the introduction of the internet‐based Cataract & Lens Exchange Analysis & Register log. Outcomes assessed were the total duration of the consultation, medical record keeping and patient facing activities. A clinician survey was completed, and comparison was made in auditing times between the prospective registry data and the retrospective chart review. Results Use of the registry added on average an extra 1.7 min to the standard consultation, but this was not significant ( p = 0.95). Preoperative clinics ( p < 0.01), language interpreter use ( p = 0.05) and completion of consent forms ( p = 0.04) lengthened the total duration of the consultation. Participants were positive about the benefit of the registry (85% positive) though there were mixed responses about the ease of use and integration of the registry in the existing workflow. Conclusion The web‐based registry was successfully trialled in a tertiary hospital setting without adversely affecting consultation time. The registry offers a substantial time saving over retrospective audit methods, which has the potential to improve engagement in quality assurance activities.
Sartor et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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