Newswise — Richard P. Dutton, M.D., M.B.A., has been named Executive Director of the Anesthesia Quality Institute (AQI).
The AQI was created by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) to expand its focus on patient health and safety by fostering advances in quality of care measurement that lead to improvements in the delivery of anesthesia medical care.
Dr. Dutton's arrival as Executive Director officially launches the AQI, which is to be housed in the ASA Headquarters office in Park Ridge, Ill.
Dr. Dutton currently serves as Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. For the past 15 years, Dr. Dutton has also worked as a staff anesthesiologist at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center of the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore, the nation's first and largest dedicated trauma hospital. At the Trauma Center, Dr. Dutton was instrumental in creating a hospital-wide quality management program centered around the Trauma Registry, and in 'mining' the data captured for numerous business, quality, and research improvement projects.
Dr. Dutton previously served as a Lieutenant Commander in the Department of Anesthesiology at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
He is a graduate of Harvard University and Tufts University School of Medicine. He also has an M.B.A. degree from the University of Maryland.
"Dr. Dutton's stellar academic background and his experience as a practicing anesthesiologist coupled with his experience in data registries and his interest in patient safety make him ideal for the position," according to John Thorner, who serves as AQI President, in addition to his role as ASA Executive Vice President, "His M.B.A. also provides the additional business knowledge needed to make this new enterprise a success."
A longstanding member of the ASA, Dr. Dutton has been the editor of the ASA Self "Education and Evaluation Program (SEE) since 2005 and serves on the Committee for Trauma and Emergency Preparedness. Dr. Dutton also served on the Committee for Transfusion Medicine from 1999-2003.
"The selection of Dr. Dutton as AQI Executive Director is a major advance in ASA's vision of providing full service data information and analysis of anesthesia care for interested parties as well as every ASA member," said ASA President Roger A. Moore, M.D. "As AQI grows under Dr. Dutton's direction, it will provide essential information concerning performance on PQRI measures, the fulfillment of MOCA mandates, comparative practice outcomes and much more."
The primary mechanism for achieving this objective will be a national data registry for anesthesia. The data registry will strive to achieve multiple conceptual goals, including clinical research, benchmarking, public reporting, Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology (MOCA), and credentialing.
According to Dr. Dutton, "The ASA already is a leader in quality and patient safety issues, and its work with AQI will continue to strengthen ASA as the leader in patient safety. I am excited to take my work on registries to the national level, I am positive my success in Maryland will translate well nationally."
ASA President-Elect Alexander Hannenberg, M.D., a major proponent of the Institute, added that "Working in conjunction with the ASA, the AQI will help members accelerate their quality and performance improvement processes. The tools, articles and other resources provided will support anesthesiologists in achieving better patient outcomes, enhancing safety, and increasing satisfaction on many levels.
The AQI is a separately incorporated organization, with its own Board of Directors, chaired by Jeffrey Plagenhoef, M.D. Other members of the Board are:
"¢ Donald E. Arnold, M.D.
"¢ Thomas B. Bralliar, M.D.
"¢ Douglas G. Merrill, M.D.
"¢ Keith J. Ruskin, M.D.
Each of these ASA members joins the AQI Board of Directors with strong experience in anesthesia leadership and with notable backgrounds in leading successful projects.
"I am looking forward to working with Dr. Dutton in overseeing the fiduciary and broad policy directions for this new entity," Dr. Plagenhoef commented. "Dr. Dutton has the insights that the AQI needs in order to get us started at a fast pace and moving in the right direction. His exemplary leadership in academics, quality and safety will serve the specialty of anesthesiology well."
"Under his able guidance, the AQI will rapidly create a national database offering a multitude of potential uses in analyzing, comparing and improving quality, safety and outcomes," he added.
He further noted that the AQI will be a "one of a kind" organization in that "There are no other quality-monitoring groups that focus specifically on anesthesia."
The AQI sets itself apart on that end, and its affiliation with ASA is a unique opportunity for both organizations.
Dr. Hannenberg pointed out that ASA members will be able to see immediate results from the AQI by tapping into the rich data resources it will provide. "Not only will the ASA on a whole be able to use the data to support important initiatives, anesthesiologists will also find the data important in their daily work life. The AQI is critical to the future of the specialty of anesthesiology," Dr. Hannenberg added. "When I succeed Dr. Moore this October, I know working with Dr. Dutton and the AQI will be a major focus of my Presidential term."
Anesthesiologists: Physicians providing the lifeline of modern medicine. Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists is an educational, research and scientific association with 43,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and improve the care of the patient.
For more information visit the ASA Web site at www.asahq.org.
RSS