Ambulatory surgery center (ASC) leaders looking to improve 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 that integrate with electronic health record (EHR) systems.
Dry-erase boards have long been a common tool for ASC staff to track patient throughput and capacity. While many ASCs believe this manual process serves them well, relying on dry-erase boards creates several operational challenges, including delays, errors, and staff frustration. For these reasons and others, ASCs are increasingly adopting electronic patient tracking systems that provide digital visualizations and a range of benefits, perhaps most significantly, a more accurate, timely depiction of the patient’s status.
TL;DR:
Ambulatory surgery centers improve efficiency, accuracy, and staff satisfaction by replacing manual dry-erase boards with real-time patient tracking systems that integrate with ASC EHR software and update in real time.
Electronic patient tracking systems are digital tools that display real-time patient status, location, and procedural progress throughout an ambulatory surgery center.
Let's look at some of the most noteworthy benefits of using electronic patient tracking in surgery centers.
When tracking technology is integrated into a more comprehensive ASC EHR, the tracking boards update in near-real time based on staff documentation. This automation eliminates duplicate documentation and eliminates the need to update patient orders or clear patients from the display upon discharge, while ensuring the most current patient information is visible.
Manual dry-erase boards require manual documentation of each addition, change, and update on the board. In a busy ASC, particularly one with high case volume and rapid patient turnover (e.g., gastroenterology, ophthalmology, pain management), keeping up with frequent changes can be difficult and stressful. Patient information must also be documented multiple times, as the information on the dry-erase board must still be entered into the EHR or paper records. This redundancy can reduce staff efficiency and productivity while increasing the risk of data-entry and tracking errors.
The ability to quickly check the status of the ORs throughout the day using electronic OR boards reduces time spent asking colleagues for status updates and tracking down staff to ensure they're in the right place at the right time. This helps improve patient throughput and capacity management and reduce patient wait times.
Real-time patient tracking systems keep staff informed of a patient's position in the surgical queue, location within the surgery center, procedure type, surgeon, anesthesiologist, and other essential care details. Staff can see who has arrived and who is ready for the OR. If an OR opens early or a procedure runs late, cases can be moved more easily, 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 that highlights when a case is running late or when 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 requires corrective action, the person in charge of the board would need to make calls, send text messages, and/or physically locate staff to 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.
HIPAA-compliant electronic patient tracking systems designed for an ASC's waiting room keep patient caregivers, like family and friends, informed of the patient's progress throughout the surgical event. This provides caregivers with solace and reduces 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.
When caregivers can track patients' progress, they no longer need to ask front desk staff for status updates. This reduces the time staff spend speaking with visitors, handling disruptive calls, or visiting the nurse’s station and ORs for updates, allowing them to focus on other critical tasks and improving the ASC’s ability to reduce patient wait times. With fewer interruptions, staff efficiency and productivity often increase.
A single surgical case can include substantial essential patient and case information that ASC staff rely on to deliver safe, successful care. As the number of active cases increases throughout a day, additional visual space is needed to display these critical details clearly.
Electronic patient tracking systems don’t need to fit all this information onto a single screen, as is required with manual dry-erase boards. Instead, an electronic board cycles through multiple pages, displaying information for a reasonable period and keeping text at a consistent, easily readable size. Some electronic tracker boards allow users to add or remove columns, or resize existing ones, to optimize the display.
While dry-erase boards are available in varying sizes, it's impractical to switch between sizes to accommodate volume changes. That means ASCs must choose either a dry-erase board size that accommodates their projected highest-volume day or attempt to fit more information on a smaller board. This can lead to cramped or illegible handwriting, creating confusion and misunderstandings about important details, reducing efficiency, and increasing risks to patient and staff safety.
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 technology provides "sources of truth," enabling ASC staff and patients' caregivers to track a patient's progress on the day of surgery, supporting staff efficiency, patient throughput, and capacity management, while enhancing patient satisfaction.
Users of real-time patient tracking systems like SIS’ can easily create their own electronic tracking boards. They can also configure existing tracker board templates, adding "free-hand" sections with additional pertinent and timely information.
According to ASC staff using SIS electronic tracking boards:
"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 request a demo of SIS Complete, including its electronic tracking boards, contact us today.
What are electronic patient tracking systems?
Electronic patient tracking systems are digital tools that display a patient’s status, location, and progress through the surgical process in real time. In ambulatory surgery centers, these systems replace manual dry-erase boards and often integrate with ASC EHR software for automated updates.
Real-time patient tracking systems enable staff to quickly identify delays, open rooms, and improve patient readiness, enabling faster schedule adjustments. This improved coordination helps reduce patient wait times and keeps cases moving efficiently throughout the day.
Yes. Many electronic patient tracking systems are built directly into ASC EHR software, allowing tracking boards to update automatically as staff document care. This integration eliminates double documentation and ensures accurate, up-to-date patient information.
By providing continuous visibility into case progress and room utilization, electronic tracking boards help ASCs better manage patient throughput and capacity management. Staff can anticipate bottlenecks, respond to delays, and optimize resources across the facility.