Digital Bariatrics News

The Hospital Stay

5/30/2005 9:48:32 AM

After finishing the surgery, our surgeons sit down at a computer in the operating room and enter the details of the procedure into the BPM. This process takes approximately 1-2 minutes. After completing the data entry, the BPM then generates a full operative dictation that is printed out and placed int he chart, in addition to uploaded to the hospital EMR system, usually before the patient has been moved over to a stretcher. The dictation contains ICD-9 codes for the co-morbid conditions, streamlining future billing. Each surgeon has created an individual dictation template for each procedure, and in some instances multiple templates for the same procedure (i.e. lap-band templates with and without hiatal hernia repairs).

On the day of discharge, the physician assistant updates the discharge information in the BPM (60 seconds) and documents any adverse events that occurred during the hospital stay. A complete discharge summary for the chart and the EMR is then created.