Authors (including presenting author) :
Yeung KHK, Wong YY, Yip SPC
Affiliation :
Department of Anaesthesiology and Operating Theatre Services, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Introduction :
Perioperative Nursing Information System (PNIS) was first designed in Hong Kong in 2014. With the complexities of the types and numbers of surgeries, numbers of theatres and numbers of staff and to digitalise all intraoperative paperwork, the QEH OT department had implemented a modified Perioperative Nursing Information System (PNIS) which was integrated with the surgical safety checklist in May 2022. A RFID card reader was utilized to recognize information on the staff card as to identify electronic signatures for the surgeons, anaesthetists, and nurses who participated in Surgical Safety Checking Process.
Objectives :
To eliminate the chance of missing vital documents of patients by using electronic documents and to improve the stanardization and consistency of nursing documentation, as well as the accuracy and efficacy of electronic data collection and to introduce an effective and time-saving way for obtaining an electronic signature.
Methodology :
PNIS was used alongside paper forms during the trial period. Starting with elective OTs, paper forms were gradually eliminated when all nursing staff is confident to completing the PNIS independently. When all elective OT perioperative documentations were switched to PNIS, the transition then moved to daytime emergency OT sessions and, eventually, to 24- hour emergency OT sessions.
We have consulted the human resources (HR) department throughout the development stage to determine how much information should be taken from the staff card in order to identify the personnel while safeguarding personal data in each scanning transaction.
Eventually, a part of the MIFARE CODE from the staff card was taken out for personnel identification. Another challenge is the update of the staff list whenever there are new staff rotations. For this reason, we also need to work with several department secretaries in obtaining the updated staff lists.
Result & Outcome :
The transition from paper forms to PNIS with surgical safety checklist was completed in Nov 2022.
Prompt and efficient services are always expected and documentary records will be created to ensure due diligence. PNIS with scanning staff card can increase overall efficiency during the process without sacrificing the quality of services.
