MDNews - Mid Hudson

COVER FEATURE patient orders. Now all providers working in the ED can access the EMR system, updating a patient’s record simultane- ously, from any computer installed in a treatment room or the portable computer rotating throughout the unit. By eliminat- ing paper from the unit, the system inherently removes the possibility for human error caused by illegible handwrit- ing. In addition, ConnectCare’s design includes an automatic prompt to alert those placing orders of any drug allergies or potentially harmful drug interactions. The system also serves as another tool for the ED’s constant self-assessment and improvement. “On the back end, the nurse manager The special intravenous catheter has thin balloons on its surface. The hypothermia machine circulates cold saline into these balloons, which in turn cools the patient’s blood as it fl ows over the catheter. To be eligible for therapeutic hypother- mia, patients must be between ages 18 and 75 with an adequate blood pressure and a stabilized heart rhythm within 20 minutes of the cardiac arrest. If the ED discovers that the cardiac arrest is related to a blocked artery, the patient is transferred to the cardiac catheterization lab before being considered for the ED therapy. “It’s not a miracle treatment, but the evidence has shown that when used cor- rectly with the proper candidates, the therapy can significantly decrease a patient’s chance of suffering neurological damage,” Dr. Blaufeux explains. “We have been able to surpass the positive outcomes found in the initial studies. ” An Electronic Solution The ED is also looking to its use of electronic medical records (EMR) for both inventiveness and patient safety, as well as to hone the unit’s effi ciency. The first department in Good Samaritan Hospital to be equipped with the ConnectCare System by Epic, the ED implemented the EMR system in February 2011. Prior to the EMR, physicians hand 8 | Mid Hudson MD NEWS  MDNEWS.COM wrote orders, and unit clerks transcribed the orders into another system. ConnectCare removes several unneces- sary steps from the documentation process, as does the new practice of physi- cians sharing the responsibility of entering and I get very detailed daily, weekly and monthly reports that give us a traceable map of how the ED is doing and helps us pinpoint the opportunities to improve our methods,” Dr. Blaufeux says. “A case in point is the Super Track program for which we are planning a trial to ensure a patient’s registration and triage are com- pleted at the same time in the same room.” As Dr. Blaufeux explains, a long-term analysis of the ConnectCare reports showed that the unit’s intake process, through which patients arriving to the ED without an ambulance transport are registered, was creating increases in Stephen Ross, R.N., and Brian Blaufeux, M.D., FACEP, prepare to insert the intravenous catheter and initiate hypothermia.

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