Provide detailed reporting analytics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\u201cNow, when a code call comes in, it rings to an available operator, they select which campus, the code, and input any additional info needed into the fields to make the overhead announcement. It\u2019s \u2018click, click, click\u2019 and they\u2019re done,\u201d Brenda said. \u201cWe dispatch between one thousand to twelve hundred codes a month from all eight of our hospitals, and most of our codes are dispatched in under a minute now. Dispatching our codes through this new system versus pulling the code sheet has significantly decreased the number of serious safety events.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are plans to introduce more automation and take advantage of the care team collaboration app\u2019s interoperable capabilities. Currently, if a code STEMI comes through, the operator must navigate to the on-call schedule page to find and contact the on-call doctor. Soon, when the cardiology schedules are fully rolled over to the app and the operators dispatch a code STEMI, the system will automatically pull the STEMI doctor\u2019s name, contact information, and notify that provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also working with the neuro-hospitalist team to complete an integration with the app and a notification application used in the ED,\u201d said Brenda. \u201cWhen a code stroke or code STEMI occurs, AMR (American Medical Response) calls from the field to notify the emergency department that they are bringing in a patient who is having a stroke. That sends a notification to the call center about a code stroke coming in. Currently, if our call center doesn\u2019t hear from the ED within five minutes to initiate a code, an operator calls the ER to ask if a code stroke should be initiated. In this situation, time is obviously of the essence. We want to improve that process by using the information from the ED application to automatically notify the appropriate teams if there\u2019s a code stroke that requires intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Implementing and Using the New Systems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Coordinating and implementing new software can be challenging for a system as large as Providence Swedish. While the hospitals will update their on-call scheduling platform to the care team collaboration app, hospitalist groups and other departments can decide to keep their current system. The entire organization is closely watching the project to see how it’s done and how successful it proves to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brenda and her team began with a pilot group to train and roll over their schedules to the system. The providers, caregivers, nurses, and technicians who were involved all got twenty-four-hour access to their schedules via a QR code they scanned. When other departments saw the results and how easy it was to use, they were also interested in the care team collaboration application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNuclear medicine and others wanted their schedule online too, so I\u2019ve built quite a few new schedules for groups and departments who didn\u2019t have online schedules before,\u201d said Brenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Providence Swedish also has groups from a polyclinic with Kaiser Permanente Washington that admit patients to Providence Swedish hospitals. In the past, Providence Swedish providers would call Kaiser Permanente and speak with a polyclinic operator. The agent would connect the doctor from Providence Swedish and the doctor from Kaiser Permanente for a patient consult. These extra steps occurred because Providence Swedish operators could not access the polyclinic\u2019s on-call schedules. Now the Kaiser polyclinic staff have their schedules online, making it much easier to find the information they need via the app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brenda continued, \u201cMore schedules than ever before are coming online and are easier to access. Plus, it\u2019s direct access to the providers instead of going through an answering service or another switchboard. This is one of the huge benefits of the on-call schedules. I can build as many as I need with as many shifts listed per day as needed. The hospital schedules forty shifts a day. There\u2019s really no end to what we can do or who we can accommodate as far as an on-call schedule. We\u2019re already seeing the benefits of this program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Change can be intimidating to staff who are used to doing things in a certain way. However, once new users try it, they report it\u2019s surprisingly easy to use. \u201cThe care team collaboration application is user-friendly,\u201d said Brenda. \u201cTo be able to sit down and look at it, and then figure out how to do something with a program you\u2019re not familiar with within a few minutes\u2014if that isn\u2019t user-friendly, I don\u2019t know what is. When we were rolling out in the early stages, I had some difficulty getting the groups to enter their schedules for the next month into the app. I\u2019d send a reminder and promise it would only take them a few minutes to complete. Then, I\u2019d suddenly receive a message back a half hour later saying it was so easy that they got the next three months done!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brenda continued, \u201cIt\u2019s better compliance to have schedules completed promptly. Before using this process, I would have to look at every schedule the week before they were due, and I\u2019d have to email staff about it and offer to post it for them. That scenario has dropped considerably and made my job a lot easier. Now, staff gets their schedules completed on time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n