| Sumario: | Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of an internet‐based cataract surgical registry in a tertiary teaching hospital and compare the efficiency of a registry‐based, prospective cataract audit with retrospective methods. Setting: Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Design: A continuous time‐motion study. Methods: The duration of pre‐ and postoperative cataract consultations were measured before and after the introduction of the internet‐based Cataract & Lens Exchange Analysis & Register log. Outcomes assessed were the total duration of the consultation, medical record keeping and patient facing activities. A clinician survey was completed, and comparison was made in auditing times between the prospective registry data and the retrospective chart review. Results: Use of the registry added on average an extra 1.7 min to the standard consultation, but this was not significant (p = 0.95). Preoperative clinics (p < 0.01), language interpreter use (p = 0.05) and completion of consent forms (p = 0.04) lengthened the total duration of the consultation. Participants were positive about the benefit of the registry (85% positive) though there were mixed responses about the ease of use and integration of the registry in the existing workflow. Conclusion: The web‐based registry was successfully trialled in a tertiary hospital setting without adversely affecting consultation time. The registry offers a substantial time saving over retrospective audit methods, which has the potential to improve engagement in quality assurance activities.
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