The Committee on Information Management has been charged with oversight of the Society’s data collection, analysis and reporting as well as the confidentiality, security, access to and utilization of this information. The committee has 17 members who meet twice a year and who have been kept busy with numerous projects.

Electronic Membership Database and Survey
We have worked since 2003 to improve the Web-based collection and maintenance of membership information. This entailed two separate initiatives: a revised survey mechanism to collect membership data and a process whereby the collected data would update the central membership database. Members can now update their personal and business information in one place on the ASA Web site.

The revised demographic survey, now called the “Professional Profile,” represents an expansion of the data previously collected from ASA members and has been discussed in the June 2003 ASA NEWSLETTER. The objective of this survey is to provide the Society with improved aggregate practice information and with the tools to contact members via the Internet regarding general and specific issues.

In an effort to bring attention to the Professional Profile, we redesigned the “Members Only” section of the ASA Web site last year. The end result is a more easily navigated and visually pleasing experience.

We continue to monitor the utilization of the Professional Profile. To date, more than 4,000 members have updated their information using this tool. We use a variety of mechanisms to encourage members to update their profile, including newsletter articles, postcards, “birthday” e-mails to members, “graduation” and “end-of-year” e-mails to residents and fellows and redirection (as indicated) to the profile from various places on the ASA Web site.

ASA needs to be able to contact its members efficiently and effectively. E-mail addresses are especially important to update, as they frequently change. We therefore encourage every ASA member to complete and regularly update their Professional Profile, which can be found in the “Members Only” section of the ASA Web site at <www.ASAhq.org>.

Electronic Surveys
ASA obtained two separate survey tools within the last 12 months. The first is a formal, robust and full-featured Web-based survey program wherein a questionnaire can be easily created and the results efficiently collected and analyzed. This tool has successfully been used in surveys regarding sleep apnea and critical care medicine, the latter of which targets more than 10,000 recipients. We are enthusiastic that this tool will positively impact the Society’s level of member service. An approval process via administrative procedures is in place to ensure subject relevancy to ASA members of the surveys that are distributed.

The second survey tool is a less ambitious, but no less sophisticated, program that generates an “instant” or “pop-up” survey, so named because it can pop up on the Web page when it loads. This survey may remain active for a selected period of time and is meant to collect feedback based on a topic of current interest. It is located on the homepage of the ASA Web site. Currently questions are active for approximately one month.

Topics recently served by the “instant survey” tool include the importance of anesthesiology research, viability of alternative funding for anesthesia research, a variety of questions regarding sleep apnea and the use of audible alarms in the operating room. This tool is a good opportunity for Society members to give feedback regarding these types of timely topics.

Online Membership Application
In 2004 we were asked by the Committee on Membership to develop an online membership application. Such an initiative must address the different categories of Society membership, satisfy the Society’s Bylaws, satisfy business rules that are in place and integrate with our state component societies. This complex programming task is approaching completion after more than six months of hard work by the Society’s Information Services department. The result should be a significantly easier application process for potential members, less processing work for Society staff and easier, more rapid transmission of data to component societies.

ASA/ABA Data Sharing
The American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) has made a commitment to become “paperless.” ASA and ABA are cooperating in this effort by sharing contact information for members who are moving or for new members. This type of information is obviously of interest to both groups.

In an effort to assist members in their Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology™ (MOCA) process, ASA is working with ABA on providing ABA with data on continuing medical education (CME) credits earned at ASA activities. ABA plans to make the CME information available to ABA diplomates by the end of the year via its online portal system, which provides unified access to the ABA’s online systems. For more information, visit the ABA Web site at <www.TheABA.org>.

Online Committee Meetings
With the advent of broadband connections and other improvements in Internet technology, it is now possible to conduct video, audio and document-based conferencing. Society committee work may be completed more efficiently and less expensively. Society members also would save travel time.

Thus, in conjunction with the Committee on Electronic Media and Information Technology, we evaluated online meeting solutions, eventually deciding on the use of Microsoft Office Live Meeting. This product is cross-platform and provides a secure and feature-rich meeting environment. It complements a conference telephone call by allowing participants to see text documents, drawings, images and Web sites. The software also permits a textual conversation (i.e, “chat”), a question-and-answer module and can provide a meeting transcript.

This tool is not meant to replace all committee meetings, as face-to-face meetings are vital for building relationships and understanding. “Virtual meetings,” however, play an important role in helping busy committees to meet and complete specific tasks.

Last year several committees, including our own, transitioned to this product and found it worked well. Recently a committee meeting was held where members were in five different time zones and on three separate continents!

Electronic Data Policies
We periodically review and revise information management policies and procedures in response to changes in how the Society’s information is collected and potentially used. These policies and procedures protect the confidentiality and security of the Society’s information, especially the personal information of our members. This process was last completed in 2003 and approved by the House of Delegates in 2004.

ASA retains an outside consultant to advise on and review network and Web site security. Membership information is never sold, and mailing data is shared only with state components and tax-exempt educational institutions within the confines of written policy and procedure. Data collected in the previously mentioned surveys are disseminated without individual identifiers or in aggregate format only.

The ASA Committee on Information Management is a busy and interesting place to serve the Society, especially during this time of transition to electronic communication. I am privileged to work with a group as talented and dedicated as those who serve on the committee.

It is particularly difficult to appreciate the amount of work ASA staff performs in response to requests from the committee and others. These projects require creativity, knowledge, integration of divergent technologies and priorities and require many hours to complete. We are fortunate to have the talents of Director of Information Services Janice L. Plack and her staff at our disposal.

Eric Werner, M.D., is Staff Anesthesiologist, West Central Anesthesiology Group, Ltd., Central DuPage Hospital, Winfield, Illinois.