Welcome to the APSF's Data Dictionary Task Force (DDTF). The DDTF was formed as a result of the APSF's Workshop on Anesthesia Information Management Systems and their role in outcomes research and data collection that was held at the ASA 2000. The workshop highlighted several key issues regarding the adoption of technology to further reduce anesthetic errors and collect the data needed to improve outcomes. The DDTF was formed to address two interrelated objectives:
Identification of the specific perioperative outcomes that should be investigated; i.e., what are the important questions in anesthesia that should be asked and answered through data collection and analysis to achieve the greatest immediate patient benefit? Creation of a data dictionary for the collection of the data elements required to answer these questions. In the tradition of many of APSF's successful initiatives, the DDTF is supported through a cooperative effort between industry and clinicians. Corporate supporters of the DDTF include:
Clinical Leadership: Martin Hurrell PhD Andrew Norton MD David Reich MD
Clinical Advisory Group
David L. Reich, MD Ronald A. Gabel, MD Dr. Martin Hurrell Robert S. Lagasse, MD Dr. Anthony P. Madden Dr. Andrew C. Norton Dr. Roger Tackley Homer Wang, MD David Wax, MD
For more information on the origins of the DDTF, read Dr. Terri Monk's article on Perioperative Outcomes and Data Collection in the February 2001 issue of the ASA Newsletter.
For more information on APSF's work with Anesthesia Information Management Systems, see the Special Summer 2001 Issue of the APSF Newsletter devoted to this topic at
