Authors (including presenting author) :
Wong WY(1), TAM KY(1), WAN YL(1), Lau KL(1), Kam WC(1), Kan WK(2)
Affiliation :
(1) Medicine and Geriatrics Department (2) Medical Record Department
Introduction :
In line with the corporate direction of developing a "Smart Hospital," the Caritas Medical Centre (CMC), Medicine and Geriatrics Department (M&G) has initiated a smart solution in adopting the customized Electronic Whiteboard (e-Whiteboard) for medical team-based distribution of emergency admissions since November 2023. Before digitization, complex admission workflow using manual and paper-based systems brought up the issue of potentially incorrect team distribution, possible arguments on team allocation, and immense manual workload, especially for back-and-forth phone calls. Therefore, incorporating the e-Whiteboard in the digital transformation process aims to enhance transparency, reliability, and operational efficiency in such a way as to facilitate smooth workflow and patient flow.
Objectives :
1.To equip Medical Record Office (MRO) and M&G staff with the knowledge and skills to operate the e-Whiteboard 2.To facilitate smooth admission workflow by various stakeholders working in concert
Methodology :
E-Whiteboard can be accessed through the Patient Clinical Handover System (PCHOS), a real-time communication tool stakeholders share. To simplify the M&G admission workflow, a tailor-made "Medical Team-based Distribution" e-Whiteboard was designed to allow input of the patient's hospital number by scanning the barcode label and typing the admission wards following the team sequence (Male team: M1-9; Female team: F1-9). Before proceeding to the smart solution, the staff was provided with hands-on training. Finally, a step-by-step 6-phase trial run of the team-based bed allocation was started on 31 August 2023, testing for 3 hours on weekdays till running 24/7 all year round on 13 November 2023. Regarding emergency admission, the MRO staff will inform the receiving ward of patient information (name, age, Hong Kong identification number, gender) and a team assigned on the e-Whiteboard. For patients who are under unstable conditions or require AIIR, A&E nurses will directly contact the call ward without notifying the admission office. The M&G call ward will promptly input the patient information into the PCHOS system to maintain a fluid workflow in handling all admissions.
Result & Outcome :
Since initiating the 24/7 smart service on 13 November 2023, thanks to the concerted effort of MRO staff, there was 100% utilization of e-Whiteboard for M&G team-based distribution of inpatient admission. Up to 31 December 2023, a total of 3812 patients assigned to the admission wards were recorded by e-Whiteboard, and the highest number of admissions, 145 (mean 77.8, SD 14.95), was noted in December on a single day. The e-Whiteboard provides real-time patient admissions and team distribution information to facilitate operational efficiency and improve patient flow. More importantly, the smart solution alleviates the heavy workload of frontline staff.
