Utility of the finance-electronic medical record digital dashboard in pediatric otolaryngology.

BACKGROUND: The time and cost of data collection via chart review of the electronic medical record (EMR) is a research barrier. This study describes the development of a digital dashboard conjoining EMR and finance data and its application in a pediatric otolaryngology practice. METHODS: The dashboard creates a common language crosswalk between surgeries via the EMR, financial data, and national Vizient database. First, all Otolaryngology procedures billed via ICD-10 or CPT codes were categorized into Procedure Groups, which constitute the common language that links all data sources. The joined dataset was inputted into a Tableau workbook supporting dynamic filtering and custom real-time analysis. RESULTS: The dashboard includes 84 Procedure Groups within Otolaryngology. Examples for pediatrics include Sistrunk procedure and supraglottoplasty. User-friendly dynamic filtering by Procedure Group, surgery date range, age, insurance, hospital, surgeon, and discharge status were developed. Outcomes include length of stay, telephone callbacks, postoperative hemorrhage, reoperations, return to Emergency Department, readmissions, and mortality. National comparisons can be analyzed via embedded Vizient data. The usability of the dashboard was tested by evaluating pediatric tonsillectomy outcomes, which revealed a significantly higher rate of postoperative hemorrhages and reoperations during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: The hybrid finance/EMR dashboard creates a crosswalk between data sources and shows utility for use in evaluating patient outcomes via real-time data analysis and dynamic filtering. This innovative dashboard expedites data extraction, promoting efficient implementation of quality improvement initiatives and surgical outcomes research.