Saving Lives By Being Wireless
April 18, 2008
As a technology specialist, everyday I see the power that technology can have in helping a business grow and helping people become much more productive—both of which potentially lead to a financial impact.
I was talking with one of our most recent health care clients last week and I posed the more serious question,
“Can proper use of technology help save lives in a hospital?”
He’s a rather profound thinker so it made perfect sense to him to explore the topic. As a note, we recently installed a wireless communication system at his site. The list below came as a result of a total diagnostic that his site went through prior to the selection of a wireless solution. Obviously, every facility is different and recommendations vary on a case by case basis.
Yes, because of faster reaction times and increased staff availability.
In diagnosing his situation (pre-sale), we found that his staff didn’t feel mobile. They felt tied to their unit. Consequently, they believed quality of care suffered because of that. With a wireless system, their mobility increased—they could perform their jobs from anywhere in the hospital. A nurse there told us a story about a common situation that used to take 3-5 hours to resolve. And that with the new communication system, she coordinated the exact same result in less than 30 minutes. Over the course of 400 nurses and 2300 patients, that two hours turns into tens of thousands of hours of productivity advancement.
Yes, because of paging delay elimination between doctors, nurses and staff.
Under the old system, nurses spent less time taking care of patients directly and personally, and more time with admin details. They all felt like patient care was a casualty. With their new system, doctors have all critical information and direct access to nurses and staff. Doctors also spend much less time on hold which allows them to do what they do best—administer care.
Yes, because more and more people are involved in patient care, which can create errors in the handoffs.
The information flow is greatly increased. (More here on patient info flow. Think about a story like I have in the prior paragraphs.) For example, it used to be when someone wanted……this happened. And it caused….
Conclusion
The basis for this argument is that hours spent with the patient instead of running people and information down—or waiting for information-will lead to better patient care and thus better referrals to the hospital. Has it saved a life yet? Well, not that we know of. But the time will come when an hour saved will be the difference between life and death.
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