Enhanced patient care and safety, reduced patient wait times and an improved overall patient experience are the results expected in the Battlefords Union Hospital Emergency Department thanks to implementation of a new clinical documentation and patient tracking system known as Sunrise Clinical Manager, according to a press release.
The computer-based system allows BUH Emergency Room staff and physicians to access and enter up-to-date real time health information at the bedside of patients in the ER. Care providers have prompt access to the individual patient's registration and health information; the patient's care assessment (triage) status; medication, treatment, test results and more.
"This is a win-win for our patients and our care providers," states Chris Etcheverry, nurse manager of the BUH ER. "With improved guidelines for triaging and treating patients, enhanced caregiver communication throughout a patient's ER visit and electronic access to patient information in real time, we are able to more quickly and efficiently make and deliver informed treatment decisions, improve patient flow through the ER, make more effective use of ER personnel and improve workload management.
"Ultimately, this means an improved care experience for our ER patients and improved satisfaction for our care providers," Etcheverry says.
The system consists of computers at the bedside in each of the emergency department's eight treatment rooms, a mobile unit and an electronic display board in the main ER care area. At the bedside, doctors and nurses can quickly and securely access the patient's information as well as update the patient's care status. On the main display board, ER personnel can see, by ER room number and patient initials, the status of each person being cared for in the department.
Etcheverry explains, "We can now see instantly when ER patient test results come in for such things as laboratory work or x-rays. We can readily see who is assigned to our patients and when a patient needs attention."
The ER is also connected through the system to laboratory, medical imaging and dietary departments, improving communication to better meet patient needs.
Battlefords Union Hospital is the second site in Prairie North Health Region to implement the ER component of Sunrise Clinical Manager. The system was launched in the Lloydminster Hospital Emergency Department in June 2013.
SCM has been or is being implemented in other hospitals and health regions across Saskatchewan as the province and eHealth Saskatchewan move toward electronic patient records.
