The Anesthesia Quality Institute (AQI) created the first specialty specific incident reporting system in the United States for collecting individual adverse events from anesthesia, pain management and perioperative care. The Anesthesia Incident Reporting System (AIRS) is an online reporting tool that collects data to develop learning opportunities for anesthesiologists based on their colleagues' experiences. AQI encourages reporting from any clinician who encounters an unintended event related to anesthesia or pain management.
Some examples include: Drug shortage and unusual reaction to an anesthetic medication.
Report Safety Events ASA Monitor Articles
When submitting data, the reporter can choose to submit either anonymously (no sender contact information is retained) or confidentially (sender contact information is retained). The benefit of reporting confidentially is it allows for the reporter to modify the report or add additional information. Confidential reports allow AQI staff to follow up to clarify any information.
Reported data is limited to review and use by AQI and is not accessible to participants at this time.
The AIRS database is protected from use in legal proceedings through AQI's status as a federally listed Patient Safety Organization (PSO). As a PSO, federal law protects any patient safety work product from legal discovery and imposes strict confidentiality guidelines. To be in federal compliance, all AIRS data is collected using a secure Internet connection and stored in the AIRS database on the AQI server. It is a PSO requirement, and therefore, it is AQI policy never to release any identifiable data housed in the AIRS database.
Supports live data input for AQI safety review
Anonymous reporting of serious adverse events
AQI publication of case details and safety trends
CME events for peer-to-peer clinical case review
Date of last update: October 8, 2024
