Workflow

Given the increasing complexity of clinical care and massive amounts of data being collected through different medical devices, healthcare professionals can end up spending excessive amounts on time on documentation and often, have a lot of critical information but in a fragmented or siloed manner.  Fragmented data creates information gaps, which can potentially impact decision-making, coordination, and workflow. One way to address this challenge is to bring together the disparate sources of data onto an integrated platform, and this is where Ascom’s Healthcare Platform comes in. The modular approach of the platform means that healthcare organisations can begin their process of data consolidation regardless of their stage of development. Due to its built-in interoperable features, existing hospital information systems and devices can also be integrated into the Healthcare Platform. One practical use case of the Platform is that of patient alerts – with Ascom’s ability to analyse, filter and channel alerts to specific clinicians, they do not need to ‘chase’ the data and can respond more appropriately based on the nature of the alarm. This results in fewer needless interruptions for the clinicians.  Sengkang General Hospital is one of the first hospitals in South-East Asia to have implemented the end-to-end suite of Ascom Healthcare Platform solutions. “We are pleased to be working with the Ascom Telligence Nurse Call System as part of our integrated solutions under the new hospital infrastructure. Having the ability to bridge the information flow seamlessly with various business applications has helped to drive towards greater workflow coordination and productivity for our staff particularly in current times of manpower constraints” as shared by Lee Puay Chuan, Deputy Director Strategic Projects, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore.  Purpose-built devices for care delivery While an integrated platform can bring about better healthcare data visibility and actionable insights which are beneficial for both clinicians and patients, the hardware or devices must also be up-to-task in terms of providing access to vital information, as well as facilitating the communication between clinicians and care teams. The Ascom Myco™ 2 is an example of such a purpose-built device which connects its users with colleagues, patients, labs, pharmacies, porters, cleaners, medical devices, patient monitors, and nurse call systems. Crucially, it merges data from these multiple sources and displays it as meaningful information to help frontline staff make the best decisions while on the move. Designed for the delivery of personalised care, the recently released Ascom Myco 3 is a versatile purpose-built Android™- device which features multiple care delivery and monitoring functions. It works with apps to integrate with nurse/call alert systems, wander management and monitoring solutions and data collection systems. To facilitate more efficient care at the bedside, the Myco 3 allows the user to perform single-entry registration of vitals to EMRs/EHRs, barcode scanning of patient IDs and point-of-care access to and management of clinical information.  Users can choose from using either the Myco 2 or Myco 3 on their own or even combine the use of both purpose-built devices within the same facility. Regardless of the device use combination, they can be easily integrated into the Ascom Healthcare Platform, enabling seamless access, sharing and tracking of information across care teams and locations. Android is a trademark of Google LLC.

Ping An International Smart City Technology (PAISCT), a subsidiary of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, has signed a research agreement with Medical Artificial Intelligence Lab Program (MAIL) of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) to clinically evaluate their AI-based optical coherence tomography (OCT) retinal disease screening system. OCT is a high-resolution, non-contact and non-invasive diagnostic technique that renders an in vivo cross-sectional view of the retina. The AI OCT system is a screening and referral system for eye diseases, combining the analysis software employing AI trained on input from clinical experts, OCT eye imaging technology and colour fundus photography. What’s it about The one year research project will commence from May 2019 to April 2020. All clinical studies will be led by MAIL, under Professor Michael D. Kuo, Director of (MAIL) Program, together with Dr. Vince Vardhanabhuti, Clinical Assistant Professor from the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, HKU, and its clinical partner Dr. Jasper Wong, Clinical Assistant Professor from the Department of Ophthalmology, HKU. The project initially involves the recruitment of 500 patients, with continuous enrollment of consenting subjects. Both eyes OCT and fundus data generated by PAISCT’s OCT and fundus AI tools will be collected. PAISCT provides AI models to do screening and generate reports. MAIL will be responsible for the clinical study design, implementation and analysis.    This cooperation aims to estimate the effectiveness of AI algorithm based on OCT multimodal imaging and fundus photography for disease screening and diagnosis and jointly explore the new workflow of patient management. What’s the trend In January this year, Deqing county hospital in Guangdong Province, China launched free consultations featuring AI cameras to detect ocular fundus diseases. Co-developed by Baidu and Sun Yat-sen University, the instrument is capable of diagnosing three types of fundus disorders -- diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and macular degeneration. In India, Google and its sister organisation Verily, the life sciences division of Alphabet, have been developing a new machine learning algorithm to help expand access to and efficacy of screening for diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema. The algorithm has been refined and is now in clinical use at the Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

At Pennsylvania Dermatology Partners, among other things, patient volume and financials are up 20 percent for 2019, online appointment scheduling has increased and reputation management efforts are well in hand.

The application will enable one-click virtual consults within the EHR workflow, and comes at a pivotal time for telehealth, which is gaining stream among physicians.

Technologies to give physicians the ability see PDMP data within their EHR workflows are enabling them to spot doctor shoppers and make smarter prescriptions, says KLAS.

Even five years after go-live, many health systems aren't realizing the full value of their electronic health records, says a new Chartis Group report. Gaining clinical and financial ROI depends on a "sustained, organized approach."

Will Smart, CIO for Health and Social Care in England, says measuring digital maturity using tools such as EMRAM helps the NHS track progress of the global digital exemplars against international standards.

“In a surgical environment where one minute of OR time is worth $37, the improvements that we’re achieving on a daily basis have a big impact to our efficiency and bottom line,” explained Dr. Kathy Cho of University Hospitals Ahuja.

A better clinician experience makes for higher-quality patient care, according to a new report from KLAS' Arch Collaborative, which makes the case for bigger investment in end-user education.

With a customized build, physicians and nurses have only the most important and the most recent data to observe. And now the tele-ICU staff is the first line of patient troubleshooting.