High-Tech Digital Patient Room Whiteboard expansion improves patient experience
April 20, 2017, Smithsburg, Maryland — MEDI+SIGN®, a provider of fully-automated patient monitoring and intelligent digital whiteboard display solutions, proudly announced today that its network of digital patient room whiteboards is expanding to two additional units at St. Luke’s Hospital – Miners Campus in Pennsylvania. MEDI+SIGN was originally selected as a centerpiece of the technology upgrades in the Universal Care Suite to help the hospital meet the requirements of the HITECH* Act’s meaningful use program, and improve its HCAHPS survey scores. Because of the unprecedented success with the initial MEDI+SIGN roll-out, the product will now be introduced into the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Emergency Department (ED).
Each private room in the ICU is equipped with MEDI+SIGN’s digital patient room whiteboard display that communicates important information to patients and their families about their care; including, photos and names of the attending care team, pain control and medication management plans, anticipated discharge schedule, fall risk and mobility status, among other patient-specific information pulled from their EHR (Electronic Health Record), EPIC, and other systems.
The hospital’s Emergency Department will be deploying a new solution by MEDI+SIGN. The Emergency Department Electronic Exam-Room solution includes a smaller display mounted inside each examination room. Simplified information and alerts are presented to patients in real-time and include their care team with pictures, role and name, diet, patient location, discharge status, average test time, radiology tests ordered, average lab time, and lab status. In order to help manage the expectations of each patient, alerts will include staff response time alerts that are triggered when care team members respond to trauma situations that may delay the wait time for the patient in the exam room.
“I identified the need for improved patient communication, especially during our busiest times when staff members are occupied,” said Dr. Adam Colombo D.O., Director of Emergency Medicine for St. Luke’s Miners Campus. “I saw how MEDI+SIGN accomplished this on our Med/Surg floor but it was really their willingness to develop a new strategy for our unique needs and goals in the ED that made it work. I anticipate improved patient understanding of our ED process, increased patient satisfaction and decreased need for staff intervention. I also anticipate that implementing this communication tool will lead our Network to do the same at our other sites.”
MEDI+SIGN digital patient room whiteboards connect to St. Luke’s Miners Campus EHR, Epic, Rauland Nurse Call and other systems. Full integration with Epic and other systems ensures that the boards update automatically to provide clinicians and patients with real-time, actionable patient information. MEDI+SIGN technology alleviates the burdensome and time-consuming process involved with manually updating traditional whiteboards, and eliminates inaccuracies and delays in patient information sharing.
“With our on-going search for new ways to automate workflows using our technology, we feel that a real difference is being made with this application,” said Andrew Hoffman, President of MEDI+SIGN. “If the patients know more about their care, even if it is basic, this level of education can empower the patient very early in their care. We expect to see an improvement of the survey scores overall in the Emergency Department as we saw in other units after the deployment of MEDI+SIGN.”
Further details about MEDI+SIGN’s patent-pending patient monitoring and digital whiteboard solutions are available in the on the company’s website: www.medisigndisplays.com. Questions or opportunities may be addressed through the website, or by phone (301-790-0103)
About MEDI+SIGN
MEDI+SIGN provides hospital and healthcare organizations with a connected health platform that includes patient monitoring and digital whiteboard display solutions. MEDI+SIGN integrates with electronic health records and remote monitoring systems to collect and communicate updated and accurate patient health and status information to care teams and patients. MEDI+SIGN was established to leverage its proprietary visual communication technology to improve hospital and healthcare provider’s performance in patient safety and satisfaction, as well as the overall quality and delivery of healthcare. For more information, please contact us at www.medisigndisplays.com.
About St. Luke’s Miners Campus
St. Luke’s Hospital – Miners Campus is a member of nationally-recognized St. Luke’s University Health Network. Serving its community for more than 100 years, Miners Campus is an accredited Level IV Trauma Center and delivers high-quality, cost-effective inpatient and outpatient care to more than 25,000 people annually and is proud to serve the communities of Carbon, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties.
Noventri and MEDI+SIGN are registered trademarks of Specialized Communications, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
*Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH)