Some patients move from ED to the wards, so a basic need is to automate the bed transfer coordination and pass the clinical notes along with the patient. The obs, meds, labs, forms and outstanding tasks need to be passed along with the patient to the ward systems digitally. Whatever system the wards use, they have to transition all the ED information into their systems.
If it’s a different, disconnected system, or non-existent then there is wasted time in phone calls and waiting for replies. Wasted time searching for information and relaying information to other healthcare professionals. It may include verbal relay of information which is error prone. In general, wherever we have teams collaborating closely its best they share the same collaboration platform.
Also, clinicians are very mobile, so a using mobile app at bedside is a good fit and saves a lot of time.
It might be tempting to try an incremental, modular approach of an app for this function and an app for that function, but clinicians context switch a lot. In the multi-app scenario the clinicians are searching the patient context each time they switch apps. In the scenario of one app that does almost everything, the user experience of context switching can be as simple as selecting from my patient list on the phone.
It might be tempting to try an app for this department and an app for that department, but integration is always going to be patchy and cumbersome resulting in manual, time consuming and error prone workarounds. With different apps how can the whole be managed, how can patients & staff switch between departments easily? Perhaps collaborate for a solution that does everything ED wants and what the rest of the hospital wants too.
Some NHS hospitals have gone to an everything app and report improvement in staff efficiency, releasing time to care by more efficient communications between teams, through digital handover, instant messaging, task management.
For example, The Impact of an Electronic Patient Bedside Observation and Handover System on Clinical Practice: Mixed-Methods Evaluation, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom and similar studies included benefits like:
- 17 mins per hr observed increase in time spent available at wards at NUH for junior doctors. -
- 26 mins per hr of nurse activity replaced by more patient focused time & 13 mins per hour increase in presence at nursing station.
They also report benefits such as reduction in incidence of hospital acquired sepsis / Acute Kidney injury, by alerting to healthcare team patient triggering for sepsis, earlier supported discharge by avoiding delays throughout the patient care pathway and a reduction in abnormal lab results going unrecognised.