Authors (including presenting author) :
Tong AYH (1), Yiu KC (1), Lau KW (1), Fan MT (1), Lau JKJ (1), WU SY (1), Tsai CPC (1), Au TWC (1), Lee KCY (1), Cheung AHL(1), Wan JCN(1), Chan RCK(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Information Technology and Health Informatics Division, Hospital Authority Head Office
Introduction :
With an aim to embracing innovation and technology advancements including exploration of new concepts of artificial intelligence and big data analytics in healthcare, the co-delivery model is adopted for fast deployment of IT innovation products in Hospital Authority (HA) hospitals in optimizing service operations as well as facilitating personalized care. With the conjoint effort by HA Head Office (HAHO) product team and Cluster/Hospital management and project teams, the Smart Panel and e-Vital products were successfully rolled out in HA hospitals in a fast yet scalable manner since 2019.
Objectives :
To introduce the Smart Panel and e-Vital products under Smart Hospital initiatives as a reference case for fast product deployment with the co-delivery model in HA
Methodology :
There are currently 29,850 general beds at acute and convalescent wards in HA, which supports over 1.6 million hospitalizations per year. Smart Panel is designed with “patient centred”, "easy up and down", “clear display” and “cubicle panel” features as a multi-functional platform maximizing the accessibility of patient information to improve bedside communication among clinical teams as well as patients and relatives. e-Vital is designed with “always accessible”, “painless data capture”, “intelligent scoring”, and “seamless clinical workflow” features to enable clinical teams to keep track of patients’ vital signs anytime and anywhere. The enriched clinical data is also applied in other smart hospital initiatives such as the Clinical Command Centre to facilitate earlier identification and intervention for patients with potential risk of clinical deterioration to improve patient outcome. In the co-delivery model, HAHO and Clusters/hospitals take up different roles in product deployment. In HAHO, Electronic Bed Panel and Vital Signs Working Group and Task Group are formed to advise expertise and support on the product design as well as user engagement strategies. The HAHO product team as the product owner is responsible for product design and development with an agile approach. In addition, to facilitate relevant product promulgation, a co-delivery package is prepared with timely product update, self-service training kits and FAQ, readiness checklists and guidelines on system configuration and maintenance for product deployment planning by Cluster / Hospital management and clinical teams. Promulgation of the products is also delivered for Clusters/Hospitals in the HA IT Innovation Lab. On the other hand, Clusters/Hospitals are taking the lead for their own site preparation, workflow study and deployment plan. With support from the Cluster/Hospital management, designated project teams work closely with HAHO product team throughout the process of product deployment while governance at Cluster / hospital level is formed separately (e.g. Working Groups and Task Groups). Champion wards are also established by different Clusters/Hospitals to facilitate the promulgation work for fast products adoption by frontline staff.
Result & Outcome :
Subsequent to the development of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in 2018, the Smart Panel and e-Vital products were piloted in various HA Hospitals in 2019 followed by product deployment in HA in a fast and scalable manner. As at 4Q 2022, 26 Hospitals from 7 Clusters have established their own champion wards which managed to transfer the solid experience on the integrated clinical workflow to other sites. 10 hospitals, involving over 100 wards at acute and convalescent settings, have also shown readiness for relevant product deployment in 2023. The rollout of Smart Panel and e-Vital is a successful example on adoption of the co-delivery model for fast deployment of IT innovation products in HA. It forms a useful reference case for future application of new technologies to HA hospitals.
