Prince
William Health System Improves the Operating Room Experience
with MEDITECH
(4/21/2009)
Imagine sitting for hours in a hospital
waiting room, receiving little or no word of a family member's
progress during surgery. During such a stressful time, having
a care provider with you to report each major step of the
patient's journey—from pre-surgery to
recovery—would go a long way toward easing your mind.
Fortunately for patients at Prince William Health System (Manassas,
VA), the organization has actually found a way to bring care
teams to their concerned family members, and keep them in the
loop with the help of information technologies.
The hospital recently equipped its OR waiting area with a
large, flat-screen TV to display each patient's progress
through surgery, using a unique and private identifying
number. The screen displays the on-line "OR Big Board,"
a key component of MEDITECH's Operating Room Management (ORM)
software.
"The OR Big Board is a wonderful tool which tracks
patients through all the steps of the Operating Room care
process—from the time they arrive at the hospital, to
the time they are brought into the post-anesthesia care unit
once surgery is complete," explains Bonnie Seekford,
clinical analyst at Prince William. "It makes us feel
good, knowing family members can easily look at a screen and
see the care progression of their loved ones, which
alleviates at least some of their anxiety. It's just one
reason why we're thrilled with the Big Board functionality as
well as the other clinical efficiencies the ORM product
provides."
Coordinating
Care
Just as the OR Big Board provides pertinent information in
the waiting room, the ORM software works similarly behind the
scenes of the Operating Room, where the Big Board is making a
real difference for clinicians wishing to provide more
coordinated care. Authorized care providers see a similar
flat-screen TV inside the OR area, giving them the key
information they need so they can track surgical cases and
monitor all relevant information associated with a patient.
Clinicians who are monitoring patients and performing
specific surgical procedures can access information through
the OR Big Board and their integrated MEDITECH Health Care
Information System.
"Because all pertinent surgical information is available
for both family members and OR caregivers, MEDITECH's Big
Board technology is improving the overall OR experience for
everyone involved, and this is leading to better and safer
surgical care at the health care facility," says
Seekford.
Going
Electronic in the OR: How Did They Do It?
Prior to implementing MEDITECH's ORM solution, Prince William
managed its surgical care by running a dual paper and
electronic system. Clinical Analyst Linda Thomason remembers
those days and explains it was a less than ideal situation:
"The dual set-up often resulted in care delays,
miscommunication, and inaccurate documentation."
Determined to create a safer environment for patients, Prince
William was willing to take on a dramatic transformation in
the Operating Room by implementing MEDITECH's ORM software.
"Our hospital already had some of the other MEDITECH
applications which we felt were dependable and, hands down,
the only products out there that are easy to use," says
Thomason.
The software rollout process at Prince William went smoothly,
thanks to the hospital's keen sense of organization and
strong leadership. For instance, at the start of the training
and education phase, Prince William created a Core Team and
assigned an OR clinical resource leader to work with each
department. The leaders trained staff members on the actual
devices, mobile carts, and PCs they planned to use in their
day-to-day delivery of care. Simulating a real-life
environment in this way proved to be a helpful choice.
In addition, each physician underwent eight hours of ORM
training plus basic training on the Electronic Medical Record
(EMR). "Physicians learned how to access their patients'
data, which EMR panels housed ORM information, and how to
enter progress notes within the EMR," says Thomason.
"Our newer employees learned how to pull preference
cards and document within the system, while surgeon office
managers were given an OR demonstration and trained on
specific scheduling components."
Prior to, during, and after go-LIVE, Prince William created a
24/7 command center to assist its staff with the transition.
"We provided continuous support and our efforts clearly
paid off," says Sharon Spear, clinical analyst. "Because
OR issues typically cannot wait and need a fast resolution,
we had to be prepared to deal with any problems that arose,
in a timely fashion. With the command center, we had all the
resources we needed to do our jobs effectively."
Clinical and
Financial Improvements Abound
Since ORM went LIVE at Prince William, its clinicians have
been able to document and access records seamlessly from all
locations. "Because complete up-to-date clinical
information is accessible and available in the Big Board and
in the EMR, we now have fewer clinicians calling to see if a
certain procedure has been completed or not," says
Seekford. "The ORM solution has provided our clinicians
with higher accuracy levels and enabled more patient-centered
care."
The positive results have not only been seen in the patient
care realm, but in the area of finances as well. The health
care facility attributes much of its success to the
enterprise-wide integration the MEDITECH system provides.
"Before, much of our time was spent charge posting,"
says Seekford. "Now, since the charge data is already
set up in the system, nurses just need to enter their
information electronically and the system takes care of the
rest."
Nurses have also found benefits within the preference card
functionality, which ensures that supplies and equipment
preferred by the attending physician are available and ready
for each surgery. "In addition to keeping data together,
nurses can pull in whatever information the doctor requests,"
says Spear. "The process is more timely and efficient,
nurses can assist the physician more easily, and there is
less running around looking for paper charts. Plus, there are
fewer wasted supplies, which is a big cost savings."
And while hospital leaders have gotten the patient safety
improvements they were looking for, they are equally thrilled
to be finding improvements to Prince William's bottom line.
"Thanks to the ORM solution, our department is
definitely running more economically," says Thomason.
"The item files within the ORM application have helped
our OR nurses to keep better control over inventory and
supplies, while they're also tracking surgical patients more
effectively."
Even
Brighter Days Ahead
After seeing such widespread success in the Operating Room,
Prince William plans to continue bringing additional
outpatient units LIVE on the MEDITECH system. Their lengthy
wish list includes adding some of MEDITECH's Advanced
Clinical functionality to the hospital, such as Physician
Care Manager and documentation within the Emergency
Department. Prince William also hopes to add Medisolv products, to pull data and information into
dynamic reports.
"Prince William will be sure to stay on course with
accomplishing its main priority, to provide the best and
safest care for patients," Seekford concludes, "We
see MEDITECH's software as being a great tool for helping us
to improve the care and overall experience for patients and
their families, and that is what it's all about."
MEDITECH
Medical
Information Technology, Inc.
MEDITECH Circle
Westwood, MA 02090
781-821-3000
www.meditech.com