SSM Integrated Health Technologies (SSMIHT) www.ssmiht.com has formed a technology hub so that SSM Health Care www.ssmhealth.com, can efficiently utilize information and clinical engineering systems.
The hub operates from a central location in St. Louis and on-site at each facility. Team members plan, implement, maintain, and support biomedical and information systems for over 30,000 SSM Health Care employees.
In a move to use improved technology, SSM is involved in studying barcode scanning and how it could be used effectively in Emergency Departments (ED) despite the frantic pace found in the ED. After looking at the situation, SSM discovered that a large majority of ED patients arrive with non-urgent conditions.
According to Lynn Lenker, SSM Corporate VP-Chief Nursing Information Officer, “It is the seriously ill or injured patient in the ED that may need the barcode backup the most”. With that in mind, SSM overcame the challenges and has implemented barcode scanning in the ED.
Barcode scanning used for medication administration has produced significant results according to Tom Longergan, SSM Corporate Manager of Pharmacy Clinical Excellence. “For every 1,000 medication administrations at SSM, there is an average of four cases where a medication discrepancy was prevented by using barcodes. After administrating a million medications each month has prevented 4,000 potential medication errors.”
To work more effectively in the ED, SSM Health Care is using a dashboard as a tool to help teams objectively identify and improve patient movement through the ED. The computer-based dashboard provides quick-read indicators on the various points along the patients’ treatments in the ED. Teams can now able to see green lights where things are flowing as planned and yellow or red lights on areas that may need attention.
ED teams can also view near real-time numbers on how long it takes to move a patient from door-to-door triage, from triage to room, time from room assignment until a physician can see them, and the time it takes from when the physician sees the patient to the time when the physician can make a decision on discharge, admission, or transfer.
The success of the dashboard has resulted in a decision to deploy the new tool across the SSM Health Care System and now all hospitals currently utilizing their EHR system, now have easy access the dashboard.