How many of us have traveled somewhere, whether back to our childhood home for Thanksgiving, or to a vacation resort, and then had trouble sleeping? Unfamiliar noises are a constant disturbance – creaking pipes, strangers talking, traffic, howler monkeys in the distance… While these sounds are not necessarily loud, they are foreign to our routine and snap us from peaceful slumber. (If you are one of the fortunate souls who can sleep through a thunderstorm, I am envious.)
Imagine now being sick and struggling to sleep through even louder, more foreign disturbances – overhead announcements, infuser pump alarms, squeaking wheels on the laundry cart, people talking on their phone in the hall outside your door, etc. Research has shown how important sleep is to mental and physical health, and that a peaceful environment truly does promote healing. But the fact remains that patients struggle with these disturbances in hospitals every day.
An emerging trend in healthcare is to tone down the decibels and eliminate some of these sleep interruptions. I’ve read about initiatives that include the maintenance department keeping all cart wheels silent (the squeaky wheel truly does get the grease). I’ve heard of hospitals using gentle music on the overhead paging system to signal the start of quiet time at night, and posting signs on all patient floors reminding visitors to use inside voices.
Specifically from Amcom customers I hear how they use our products to support quieter environments. It’s music to my ears to know that we’re helping patients across the country heal faster in a calmer environment. Taking advantage of mobile devices, customers are reducing overhead paging with some of our communication solutions by sending messages directly to appropriate staff. Is someone looking for the admitting hospitalist? Instead of paging throughout the facility, we help behind the scenes by locating the correct person on duty and sending a message to his or her preferred device. Alerts and alarms from patient monitoring, nurse call, and other systems can also be sent as secure text messages to the appropriate nurse, physician, or rapid response team. It’s faster, more efficient, and just as important, quieter.
Do you have a Shhh campaign at your facility? (Silent hospitals help healing)
Has an Amcom solution helped reduce the din? What are some of the other approaches your facility is taking? Are your patients noticing?
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Achieving 95% - Procedure and Process
Last month, the Joint Commission released their annual report on quality and safety, highlighting the top-performing hospitals for 2012. Much of the post-release buzz has centered around the number of facilities on the list (620 this year compared with 402 last year) and the fact that 244 are repeat achievers. Looking at the extensive catalog of hospitals got me to thinking about how a hospital makes this exclusive list to begin with.
As humans we like these kinds of lists – they represent an organized platform of recommendations we can start with when selecting a service provider whether they are a university program or a physician group. And while not all lists are created equal, the Joint Commission’s list is exclusive. This is because making the cut is based on specific treatment procedures and evaluates well-developed protocols for things like administering aspirin to heart attack patients, appropriately using antibiotics for surgical patients, and creating a continuing care plan for psychiatric patients. These are concrete items, and achieving a 95% in each measurable specialty category clearly indicates that these facilities know how to execute their procedures.
How do hospitals consistently treat patients so effectively? More than having a standard procedure is having a solid process, and this is where I get excited – communication is a big part of these processes. Coordinating the continuum of patient care requires lots of ‘cooks in the kitchen’ – but they’re not all in the kitchen at the same time to talk with each other or pass messages. I get excited because I work for a company that enables these messages to be sent among a mobile group of individuals. We help deliver test results quickly from the Lab or Radiology back to the ordering physician so patients can receive faster treatments. We help physicians find one another for impromptu phone consultations. We help nurses monitor their patients, and we help hospitals notify groups of people quickly in an emergency. Doing our job correctly means people often don’t even know our software is there.
Hospitals are continually evolving and improving their processes, and I hope to see the 2013 list of Joint Commission top performers expand even further. Is your hospital on the list? Are you aiming to join the list in future? What campaigns at your organization are focused on improving a qualifying measure? How do communications fit into the process? I welcome your thoughts and comments.
As humans we like these kinds of lists – they represent an organized platform of recommendations we can start with when selecting a service provider whether they are a university program or a physician group. And while not all lists are created equal, the Joint Commission’s list is exclusive. This is because making the cut is based on specific treatment procedures and evaluates well-developed protocols for things like administering aspirin to heart attack patients, appropriately using antibiotics for surgical patients, and creating a continuing care plan for psychiatric patients. These are concrete items, and achieving a 95% in each measurable specialty category clearly indicates that these facilities know how to execute their procedures.
How do hospitals consistently treat patients so effectively? More than having a standard procedure is having a solid process, and this is where I get excited – communication is a big part of these processes. Coordinating the continuum of patient care requires lots of ‘cooks in the kitchen’ – but they’re not all in the kitchen at the same time to talk with each other or pass messages. I get excited because I work for a company that enables these messages to be sent among a mobile group of individuals. We help deliver test results quickly from the Lab or Radiology back to the ordering physician so patients can receive faster treatments. We help physicians find one another for impromptu phone consultations. We help nurses monitor their patients, and we help hospitals notify groups of people quickly in an emergency. Doing our job correctly means people often don’t even know our software is there.
Hospitals are continually evolving and improving their processes, and I hope to see the 2013 list of Joint Commission top performers expand even further. Is your hospital on the list? Are you aiming to join the list in future? What campaigns at your organization are focused on improving a qualifying measure? How do communications fit into the process? I welcome your thoughts and comments.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Communication Enables Better Health Care
Technology today is constantly developing—more and more information is available faster and faster. Just this week I heard a story on National Public Radio about new viruses being genetically sequenced in a few days, rather than weeks or months. One comment from the interview really stood out in my mind:
"Communication about health-related issues just travels with the speed of light today. I think the problem of international communication—openness and sharing of information—is largely resolved." - Dr. William Schaffner, Professor of Preventative Medicine at Vanderbilt University
Dr. Schaffner was contrasting disease identification today with the SARS epidemic 10 years ago. The difference between 2003 and today: the enabler for three new virus detections in the last two months was communication—the coordinated sharing of information.
Communication is integral to global health, and the World Health Organization appears well versed in their processes for managing epidemics at a macro level. What about at the micro level? How is the hospital down the street harnessing the complicated inputs of information and channeling them to the right people at the right time? Healthcare providers are a mobile bunch, on the move among patients, departments, and even different hospitals. Coordinating the care of patients is a complicated business, and healthcare facilities are continually adjusting their processes as technologies advance, devices diversify and new regulations are imposed.
On Tuesday, October 16, Modern Healthcare is holding a virtual conference and expo Building Tomorrow's Delivery Model. One of the first sessions features Fairview Health Services. Like all hospitals, Minneapolis-based Fairview is facing major challenges with population management, readmissions, and changing reimbursements. Shannon Hubler, Director of Contact Center Operations, will present New Imperative: Elevating Critical Communications in Healthcare to Cope with a Changing Landscape. He will discuss how this healthcare leader is using communications technology to bolster a mobile workforce, reduce patients' average length of stay, and bring together once-disparate systems into an integrated framework. What is your hospital’s biggest communication challenge? What are the hurdles preventing your facility from overcoming them?
"Communication about health-related issues just travels with the speed of light today. I think the problem of international communication—openness and sharing of information—is largely resolved." - Dr. William Schaffner, Professor of Preventative Medicine at Vanderbilt University
Dr. Schaffner was contrasting disease identification today with the SARS epidemic 10 years ago. The difference between 2003 and today: the enabler for three new virus detections in the last two months was communication—the coordinated sharing of information.
Communication is integral to global health, and the World Health Organization appears well versed in their processes for managing epidemics at a macro level. What about at the micro level? How is the hospital down the street harnessing the complicated inputs of information and channeling them to the right people at the right time? Healthcare providers are a mobile bunch, on the move among patients, departments, and even different hospitals. Coordinating the care of patients is a complicated business, and healthcare facilities are continually adjusting their processes as technologies advance, devices diversify and new regulations are imposed.
On Tuesday, October 16, Modern Healthcare is holding a virtual conference and expo Building Tomorrow's Delivery Model. One of the first sessions features Fairview Health Services. Like all hospitals, Minneapolis-based Fairview is facing major challenges with population management, readmissions, and changing reimbursements. Shannon Hubler, Director of Contact Center Operations, will present New Imperative: Elevating Critical Communications in Healthcare to Cope with a Changing Landscape. He will discuss how this healthcare leader is using communications technology to bolster a mobile workforce, reduce patients' average length of stay, and bring together once-disparate systems into an integrated framework. What is your hospital’s biggest communication challenge? What are the hurdles preventing your facility from overcoming them?
What is your hospital’s biggest communication challenge? What are
the hurdles preventing your facility from overcoming them?
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