As prior comments have noted, implant serial numbers are already maintained in the hospital or surgery center EMR under the operative record, as is other information such as the lot number of medications. While this may be a separate EMR from a surgeon’s office EMR (as described in the petition), especially if the surgeon’s practice is independent of the hospital or surgery center where the procedure is performed, the requested change to the operative note would not reconcile this issue, as operative notes are maintained by the hospital/surgery center, not necessarily the surgeon’s clinic EMR. 

While it’s regretful that the individual patient listed in this petition notes difficulty accessing this information, there is no evidence that this is a widespread problem. The proposed change adds further documentation burden to the physician/surgeon, unnecessarily duplicates existing documentation and workflow, and will not result in a meaningful increase in access to this information for patients, at least insofar as the rationale listed in the petition.