Ambulatory surgery center leaders interested in improving facility efficiency should consider electronic patient tracking capabilities. In this article, we compare the challenges of traditional, manual dry-erase boards with the benefits of ASC electronic patient tracking systems.
Dry-erase boards have long been a common means for ambulatory surgery center staff to track patient movement through their center. While many ASCs believe this manual process serves them well, the truth is that using dry-erase boards can prove challenging for several reasons. For these reasons and others, ASCs are increasingly moving to electronic patient tracking systems that provide digital visualizations along with a wealth of benefits, perhaps most significantly a more accurate depiction of the patient’s status.
Key Benefits of ASC Electronic Patient Tracking Systems
Let's look at some of the most noteworthy benefits of using electronic patient tracking in surgery centers.
Automated updates from the ASC EHR
When tracking technology is included as part of a more extensive ASC electronic health record (EHR) system, the tracking boards update in near-real-time based on the documentation staff are entering into the EHR. This automation eliminates double documenting. It also eliminates the need to remove patients from the display upon their discharge and to reorder patients as they progress through the surgical process while ensuring the most current patient information is visible.
Manual dry-erase boards require that each addition, change, and update be manually documented on the board. In a busy ASC, particularly those with high case volume and fast patient turnover (e.g., gastroenterology, ophthalmology, pain management), keeping up with many changes can prove difficult and stressful. Patient information must also be documented multiple times, as the information noted on the dry-erase board must still be entered into an EHR or paper record. This redundancy can decrease staff efficiency and productivity while increasing the potential for data entry and tracking errors.
Convenience for ASC clinical staff
The ability to quickly check the status of the ORs throughout the day using electronic OR boards translates to reduced time spent asking questions of colleagues, including those concerning status updates, and tracking down staff to be sure they're in the right place at the right time to keep patients moving along their care journey.
With a glance at an electronic tracking board, staff can be informed of a patient's position in the surgical queue, location in the surgery center, procedure type, surgeon, anesthesiologist, and more essential care details. Staff can see who has arrived and who is ready for the OR. If an OR opens up early or a procedure runs late, cases can more easily be moved, and staff will remain current and aware of the changes.
Some electronic OR tracking boards also include functionality that provides an at-a-glance visual queue, such as a prominent red line, highlighting when a case is running late, or a particular room needs immediate attention. This queue prompts staff to take corrective action and helps an ASC stick to its surgical schedule.
With a dry-erase board, if a case is moved or needs corrective action, the person in charge of the board would need to make calls, send text messages, and/or physically track down staff to help address the problem. If the person in charge of the tracking board is tied up for an extended period, problems could magnify, potentially leading to scheduling and optimization issues throughout the day.
Peace of mind for caregivers
A HIPAA-compliant electronic patient tracking board designed for an ASC's waiting room keeps patient caregivers, like family and friends, informed of the patient's progress throughout the surgical event. This provides caregivers with solace and reduced uncertainty during what can be a very stressful — and, in some cases, very long — experience. Caregivers also have a better understanding of when a patient is likely to be ready for discharge.
In the opposite scenario, when family and friends have no easy means to know their loved ones' progress without asking someone on staff, the waiting room can become a high-anxiety area.
Decreased frequency of staff distractions
When caregivers can track patients' progress, they do not need to ask front desk staff for status updates. This means less time required of staff to speak with visitors and make disruptive calls or visits to the nurse’s station and ORs for patient updates and more time focusing on other important tasks. With staff interruptions reduced, staff efficiency and productivity often increase.
Effectively accommodates high-volume surgery centers
A single surgical case can contain a large amount of essential patient and case information that ASC staff require to deliver a safe, successful procedure. As the number of ongoing cases increases during a day, more visual space is required to convey these critical details.
With an electronic tracking board, the technology does not try to squeeze everything onto a single screen as one would need to do with a single manual dry-erase board. Rather, the electronic board flashes through multiple pages, displaying information for a reasonable amount of time and keeping text at a consistent, easily readable size. Some electronic tracker boards allow users to add or remove columns of information or to resize columns to help optimize the display.
While dry-erase boards are available in varying sizes, it's impractical to try to change between sizes to accommodate volume changes. That means ASCs must choose either a dry-erase board size that can accommodate their projected highest-volume day (which can prove quite large, depending on the size of the ASC and types of specialties and procedures) or try to squeeze more information on a smaller board. This can lead to minor or illegible handwriting, creating confusion and/or misunderstanding about important details, reducing efficiency, and increasing patient and staff safety risks.
Electronic Patient Tracking Boards: An ASC Best Practice
SIS Complete includes a powerful electronic patient tracking tool. This web-based clinical documentation solution includes tracking boards for PreOp and PACU, the operating room, and the waiting area. The tracking technology provides "sources of truth," enabling ASC staff and the patients' caregivers who are waiting in the surgery center to track a patient's progress on the day of surgery, supporting staff efficiency and throughput while helping enhance patient satisfaction.
Users of SIS electronic tracking boards can easily create their own electronic tracking boards. They can also configure existing tracker board templates, adding "free-hand" sections that can include additional pertinent and timely information.
"From the moment we implemented the patient tracking board in our waiting area, we saw immediate benefits," said a SIS tracking boards user. "It has significantly reduced the frequency of family members and friends asking our front desk staff for updates on patient status because they can visually see their loved one's progress through the surgical event. Patient satisfaction has increased since family members experience less stress and uncertainty."
To see a demo of SIS Complete, including its electronic tracking boards, request your demo today.
