Authors (including presenting author) :
Suen SM(1), Tang C(1), H Y Mak(1), Cheung L(2), Wong S Y (3), Tong KM (4), Yeung k (5), C B Law (6)
Affiliation :
1.Central Nursing Division, Princess Margaret Hospital, 2.Central Nursing Division, Caritas Medical Center 3.Central Nursing Division, Yan Chai Hospital,(4)Information & Technology Department, Princess Margaret Hospital, 5. Administrative Service, Princess Margaret Hospital 6. Kowloon West Cluster Hospital Executive
Introduction :
eVital and eBedpanel systems provide a digital platform to handle patients’ vital sign data and an electronic display to replace traditional paper vital signs documentation and handmade bed-head signage of patient care information, aiming to provide a systemic platform to make observation orders, patient assessment and data review for patient care decision and action at anytime and anywhere across all disciplines in entire hospital. Kowloon West Cluster (KWC) Smart Hospital Committee spotted the great potential and advantages of the systems and decided to have mega-rollout in KWC that kicked off the milestone on roadmap to smart hospital, and endorsed a cluster Project Team to execute all project preparation works and roll-out plans. The team was established in April 2021 to coordinate and standardize hardware requirements and user requests projecting budget requirement of $42M at market price.
Objectives :
1.To fully implement for all inpatient beds, day wards and all non-ward clinical services such as allied health centers, diagnostic and interventional suites in PMH, CMC, YCH and NLTH in year 2021-23. 2.To collaborate cluster clinical, allied health, Information Technology, Facility management and procurement teams in all KWC hospitals to assure planning, operation and workflow standardization. 3.To develop KWC website portal page for training material and other essential information including governance, system manual, training material and video, bilingual quick guide for all disciplines to guide the frontline familiarizing the system with contingency plan in place. 4. To provide a validated design model for KCH psychiatric setting reference after its redevelopment in 2024.
Methodology :
The team provided cluster-wise site visits for hardware installation; engaged end-users and conducted workflow feasibility study; and standardized training and on-site support during live-run with bed and cubicle views. The timely mega-rollout approach in short duration achieved to avoid fluctuation of market cost and variance of workforce expense over years, resulting in economy of scale of saving up to HKD$13M from estimated cost through bulk tendering, reality site visit, time control and utility monitoring.
Result & Outcome :
1. Deployed eVital and eBedpanel systems to 100% completion in PMH, CMC, YCH and NLTH hospitals within 2 years by 1Q23, disregarding the stoppage during the COVID pandemic surge. 2. Enhanced workflow efficiency of daily operation by saving time on measurement, input, viewing and putting up patient signages. Total 31 hours were saved for taking the vital signs of all patients once in PMH, CMC and YCH. 3. Aligned standardization on patient care and documentation with customization across different specialties via electronic automation preventing information discrepancy and error charting. 4.Promoted paperless operation by reducing paper wastage with estimated around 578 000 sheets of paper (about 69 trees) saved in KWC per year.5. Improved overall patient safety by allowing convenient access to vital signs anytime and anywhere, reinforcing team communication and improving documentation accuracy and agility. 6. Maintained budget utilization with cost saving of HKD$13M through stringent control in installation schedule and expenditure. 7. Over 85% staff showed satisfaction score at or above 4 over 6 points-scale.
