Proposed Topic (Most preferred): :
Clinical Safety and Quality Service I (Projects aiming to improve efficiency and effectiveness of care delivery to meet international standards)
Proposed Topic (Second preferred): :
Research and Innovations (new projects / technology / innovations / service models)
Authors (including presenting author) :
Lai YM(1), Hung PS(1), Chan MM(1), Wong SH(1), So MT(2), Fung HY(2), Tan WS(2), Yip KS(3), Lui CT(1), Yam WY(2), Leung KC(3), Chan HS(4), Leung CM(4)
Affiliation :
(1)Accident and Emergency Department, New Territories West Cluster, (2)Cluster Health Information & Records Management Unit, New Territories West Cluster, (3)Cluster Information Technology Section, New Territories West Cluster, (4)Accident & Emergency Information Technology Working Group, Hospital Authority Head Office
Introduction :
In NTWC, over 100,000 A&E admissions were being processed annually. Supporting staff needed to transport documents to admission office to initiate ward assignment. The ineffective communication and workflow resulted in prolonged patient length of stay (LOS) in AED which contributed to AED overcrowding. An initiative to digitalize the admission system and workflow, the eAdmission project, was initiated in 2022 and piloted in TMH, POH and TSWH since 1st Jun 2023.
Objectives :
To digitalize the emergency admission workflow, improve communication efficiency and reduce patient LOS in AED for admission
Methodology :
A web-based eAdmission system was developed with conjoint effort of HAHO IT and cluster IT. Nurse would trigger off the admission process in the system which automatically retrieve relevant information from eAED system to the admission office. Active notification through dashboard would be directed to admission office to expedite admission preparation. A three-armed impact evaluation, including (1) simulation time-motion study (2) system utilization (3) Staff satisfaction survey, was conducted in December 2023.
Result & Outcome :
From 1st Jun to 30th November 2023, 45,349 admissions, 8,024 interhospital transfer admissions and 302 cancelled transactions were handled by the system. Each admission could save up to 10 minutes and 30 seconds; while each IFT case and cancelled case can save 1 minute and 45 seconds and 15 seconds. As a result, over 250,000-minute reduction in patient LOS in AEDs in the study period, which is equivalent to reducing more than 3000 patient-hours annually per AED. For the perception survey, 84 frontline staffs had participated. 64.3% were AED staffs. 75% of staffs were satisfied with eAdmission and thought that was helpful for their work. eAdmission was characterized with accurate, clear, time-saving, communication-enhancing and user-friendly interface in 76%, 78%, 77%, 77% and 79% of recipients respectively. eAdmission effectively shortened patient's LOS in AED. In view of the gained value in the pilot, the Digital Workplace working group of HAHO IT was developing a corporatized version of eAdmission.
