Closing the Loop

“He said-She said” can be an ugly game. It becomes even uglier when set in the context of patient safety, and it pits caregivers against one another following a sentinel event.

When something does occur, inevitably there are a number of questions. Even though the page log can show a message was sent, there are a string of unanswered questions that follow. Did the physician receive the page regarding the situation? Did he or she read the message? Was the appropriate action taken?

More often than not, hospitals do not have the ability to answer these questions because the most common method of communication – paging – doesn’t provide the answers. That’s when the “He said-She said” game begins.

Now, what if we were able to easily access an audit trail for these critical messages? An audit trail which was automatically generated at each step of the message flow, which even showed when the recipient received and read the message? The ability for administrators to prove that the correct steps were taken – or to reveal where deficiencies may exist – would be invaluable.

This closed-loop communications approach could potentially trigger a domino effect, whereby the realization that an audit trail exists causes everyone to be a bit more careful in how incoming messages are handled. More complete message audit trails better satisfy Joint Commission recommendations, and both patient safety and patient satisfaction would increase as a result.

This ideal scenario is one of the reasons we developed Amcom Mobile Connect, which provides an audit trail covering all the stages in the message path. Most importantly, it provides detail concerning the message and the device itself: when the message was received by the device, a read receipt once the message has been opened, user acknowledgement, and even free-form text responses. As we’ve started putting in Amcom Mobile Connect at many hospitals, this feature is getting a lot of positive buzz.

Sound like something that would be important to your hospital’s management and legal teams?

We’d love to hear your thoughts on closed loop communications and the requirements and effects within your facility. Leave us a note below!