Healthcare Safety Tips: Technology for Prevention, Detection, and Response

Since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) called for an acceleration of technologies to prevent, detect, and respond to patient safety incidents, healthcare providers have partnered with IT teams to reach these goals — with varying degrees of success. Health information technology reduces medication errors, increases provider communication, and improves outcomes, but at the same time, disparate communication tools can contribute to security and safety issues without full facility-wide integration. There is still a long way to go, but there have been significant successes using technology to prevent, detect, and respond to patient safety issues.

Using technology to prevent patient falls

Falls in healthcare settings are a major public health concern. Each year, between 700,000 and 1 million patients in the United States fall in a hospital setting. The CDC says treatment of preventable falls costs about $19 billion every year. Accidents generally occur due to the limited staff to patient ratio in hospitals. It makes sense for facilities to leverage technology to improve these staggering statistics and protect patient safety.

Automated, integrated technology identifies patterns of risk, so clinical teams can intervene before a fall occurs. For example:

• Bed sensors sound an alarm when a patient lowers a bed rail or leaves their bed.

• Wearable patient devices sound an alarm if an at-risk patient stands up.

• Devices integrate with existing or new nurse call platforms to message direct caregivers for faster response.

Alarm systems must be integrated into a compatible nurse call system to provide the level of necessary intervention. Otherwise, the systems will simply add to the alarm fatigue many nurses already experience.

Using technology to detect clinical errors

In 2018, the media buzzed with disturbing healthcare news: Medical errors were the third leading cause of death in the United States. The technology to assist clinicians with decision support—and potentially lower this sobering statistic — is available now. Technology can reduce clinical errors by:

• Rapidly and consistently communicating between clinical providers

• Improving medication safety with electronic ordering

• Automating clinical decision support tools to detect drug interactions

• Issuing alerts and reminders related to evidence-based care

Today, some of the technology available for reducing medical mistakes includes:

• Electronic health records (EHRs)

• Computerized physician order entry (CPOE)

• Clinical decision support (CDS) tools

• Integrated nurse call platforms

• ePrescribing software

• Bar code medication administration (BCMA) systems

• Smart pumps for dispensing medication

• Retained surgical item detectors

• Patient data management systems (PDMS)

• Electronic medication administration records (eMAR)

These relatively new technologies are rapidly advancing to assist clinical decision-making and reduce medical mistakes. While most hospitals have transitioned to these tools, many still lack integration between disparate systems. An integrated nurse call platform ties technologies together to create a more coordinated and efficient response to clinical care.

Using integrated technology to respond to security incidents

The statistics tell a grim story: 73% of violence-related nonfatal workplace injuries occur in healthcare facilities in the United States. There are many types of risks in our nation’s clinical facilities, including everything from patient elopement to an OSHA recordable fall to COVID-19 exposure and infection. High-tech support improves security workflows to reduce these risks. Technology includes sophisticated video surveillance, push-to-talk communication wearables, infant tagging, intrusion detection, visitor management, and other integrated security technologies.

Real time location systems (RTLS) provide an important and timely layer of safety for clinical staff who are badged or tagged in the coverage area of a healthcare facility. Staff can simply depress a button on their tag or badge, and the system instantly identifies their location and transmits alerts to key personnel via SMS text, email, or an intercom system. Alerts can also trigger cameras in the area to capture video footage that might later serve as a key data point in an incident investigation. RTLS can even be used to tag equipment, which prevents potential theft and helps staff locate a particular device faster. These tools coordinate with a user-friendly dashboard that shows the location of the person or device.

These are just a few examples of technology tools available to improve provider and patient safety in U.S. hospitals, but they illustrate the potential for improved response with the right combination of technology and human intervention. TRL Systems equips hospitals with integrated smart systems to improve patient care and staff workflows. Contact us today.