Compassion in Action; Inmagic Presto and Humanitarian Aid

The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) is the world’s largest specialty association for facial plastic surgery, representing more than 2,500 facial plastic and reconstructive surgeons throughout the world. The AAFPRS Foundation was created to address medical and scientific issues and challenges confronting facial plastic surgeons through a research program and many educational resources. Via courses, workshops, scientific presentations, and a highly respected fellowship training program, the AAFPRS Foundation has consistently provided quality educational programs for the dissemination of knowledge and information among facial plastic surgeons. One of the opportunities provided through their FACE TO FACE Humanitarian Program is the chance for AAFPRS volunteer surgeons to operate on thousands of patients worldwide, particularly children. Per AAFPRS, “In the United States and abroad, AAFPRS surgeons provide pro bono care to those who suffer from facial deformities caused by birth or trauma. The FACE TO FACE program offers individuals the opportunity to overcome the physical limitations placed on them by circumstances beyond their control—deformities at birth, domestic violence, and war. AAFPRS surgeons use their expertise to perform plastic and reconstructive surgery of the face, head, and neck.” Because of the work done by Karen Sloat, Senior Project Consultant, using Inmagic Presto and DB/TextWorks, the Academy can now offer a secure, comprehensive patient information database that allows volunteer surgeons to easily enter data, even while in the field—and call up patient histories and other data within seconds. They often see the same patients over a period of years, and the data enables them to provide the best possible care, with no time wasted.

Securing Funding, Supporting Growth

Per Ms. Sloat, in order to receive funding for their programs and increase the number of research grants, the AAFPRS must be able to capture and analyze information on patients internationally and domestically. Prior to the development of the FACE TO FACE database, there were only a few paper records; nothing else was captured or analyzed—so there was no history, very few accurate records and no quantifiable information. Now, it’s easy for Ms. Sloat and her colleagues to keep metrics, e.g., numbers of participating physicians, numbers of trips, numbers of patients seen, numbers of which type of surgeries performed—and the data is at their fingertips, ready for on-the-fly reporting and grant submissions. The International program has grown dramatically since 2014, with 86 patients at that time, to more than 2000 at the time of this writing. So important is the database that the project was documented in a Research Letter published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, titled “Creation of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery FACE TO FACE Database,” in which it is described as “…unique in that it is available to any AAFPRS surgeon on a FACE TO FACE-sanctioned mission trip, and …allows for longitudinal tracking of patient care.”

Ensuring Compliance and Progress

Using the database, with its permissions management capabilities, AAFPRS can now keep and guarantee the security of patient release forms, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) forms and other compliance records required to support their various humanitarian programs. In addition to the International program, AAFPRS partners with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV); The National Domestic Violence Project “offers individuals who have been affected by domestic violence the hope of wholeness by treating the facial injuries.” AAFPRS members volunteer to help victims of domestic abuse who cannot afford to receive treatment for facial injuries. Whereas in the International program the FACE TO FACE database is used to track outcomes, for the Domestic Violence project, it is used to ensure that the patients move through the process in a timely manner and that they receive the support they need, all while adhering to the strictest compliance and confidentiality standards. Per Ms. Sloat, “The last thing you want is for anyone to fall through the net, because they’ve been through a lot.” The number of patients served by the database has grown by 47% its first year.

Physician Matching for Better Care

With the FACE TO FACE database, AAFPRS now also captures ancillary information; they have developed a directory that facilitates better physician matching, with answers to half a dozen questions such as “what kinds of surgeries are you willing to do?” and “can you do surgery on-site?” or “do you have access to a hospital that will assist you pro bono?” This allows the programs to offer better patient care, faster, because of better matching.

Above and Beyond

In addition to the International and Domestic Violence programs, AAFPRS has used their Presto and DB/TextWorks database to set up an archival library as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Academy. It contains historical information including Board meeting minutes, images, documented stories, and copies of books published by and about the organization—and it was quickly and easily set up by a part-time Librarian, demonstrating the “ease-of-use” that Ms. Sloat values. They also use Presto to track work flow for their Fellowship Program, including matching Fellows with Directors. AAFPRS’ usage of Presto and DB/TextWorks to build the FACE TO FACE database shows the flexibility and breadth of the applications. Most powerfully, the volunteer surgeons and their teams leverage the FACE to FACE database in very innovative ways to document patient data and outcomes, building their skills and knowledge along the way, and fulfilling their vision of providing humanitarian aid to those most in need.