FAST TRACK TO PATIENT CARE
Hospital command centre unveiled
Imagine if at any given moment, no matter where you were, you knew exactly how many patients were sitting in the waiting room and precise wait times in the emergency-room departments of the Met and Ouellette campuses of Windsor Regional Hospital. Thanks to new technology that has gradually rolled out at the hospital over the past couple of years — so far just one of three in Ontario — that moment has arrived. “This will empower patients to determine exactly where they want to go,” said Jeff Theriault, emergency room manager of the hospital’s Ouellette campus. “People can then chose whether they might instead go to a clinic or family doctor — or go to a (hospital) site.
“This helps distribute the volume, so one (ER) site will not get more than others.”
The ER information is also accessible by smartphone through the hospital’s website. It improves on previous models that featured ER wait times, but were based more on averages. Data is now entered that includes the acute level of each ER patient that checks in so the new software can more accurately assess wait times. Not only does the new software by Oculys provide constant ER updates, it also allows hospital staff to accurately measure the status and needs of every patient in each hospital bed, how many beds are available and expected patientrelease information. That information was put on display Wednesday at the hospital to let the community know there will be noticeable patientflow improvements locally as flu season approaches and there is a parallel surge of patients seeking medical care. Administration at Windsor Regional has also established a command centre at the Met campus where, with the aid of the new Oculys software, planning meetings are held every morning to assess every patient’s daily needs so, hopefully, few are sitting in a hospital bed waiting an extra day for a test, and bed flow is greatly improved.
Less than two years ago, staff relied on whiteboards and handwritten charts for patient status, needs and release information. Now every administrator can access that info on phones or computer to better co-ordinate staff, tests and therapy.
“When patients can get what they need quickly, they tend not to stay in the hospital as long,” said Dr. Robert Seski, an internist and WRH’s physician director for utilization.
“If they have to wait two or three days for an MRI or consultant that can delay release. We call it a grey day when a patient fails to get what they need.
“We are now tracking all that (through the software) so a patient instead of staying six days may be done in four. That opens up a bed. During a surge, that dramatically improves the flow of patients.” The changes created by the software have removed a great deal of stress on staff because, at the start of every day, “everyone knows what to expect in terms of job demands,” Seski said. He compared it to members of a symphony orchestra each warming up with their instruments, doing their own thing, creating a horrible sound, “then a conductor taps a wand and you get beautiful sound from the same group.”
“We were doing the same thing,” Seski said. “Everybody was doing their own thing and not communicating with each other. I would write an order and hope it gets done. Now everyone knows what to expect and what’s going to happen on a day-to-day basis.” The hospital’s investment to improve patient flow has been minimal, about $100,000 to set up the command centre with monitors and the investment for software, said Karen McCullough, the hospital’s chief operating officer. “(Software) pricing has been better because we are doing some of the initial development with (Oculys),” she said. “But the importance of the command centre is huge. At 8:30 a.m. every vice-president or director can see and discuss what’s going on right now and whether patients are where they are supposed to be.
“Then people make decisions on who is going to do what now. The goal is not to waste a day of a patient’s life.”
Then people make decisions on who is going to do what now. The goal is not to was tea day of a patient’s life.