Community Hospital Mobilizes Staff For Process Improvement And More

East Jefferson General Hospital‘s (EJGH) nurses required photo documentation in a lightweight and mobile device for a pressure ulcer prevention project. Previously, the nurses were required to input detailed wound assessments into Cerner electronic power forms via COWs or desktop PCs when patients first arrived at the hospital. With the availability of integrated digital and web cameras, EJGH immediately turned to tablet PCs. In addition to wound documentation, the nurses can use the devices to access and input patient data.

"A picture is definitely worth a thousand words, and we found that out first hand," said Torres. "We needed photos to accurately capture the patients' skin integrity at arrival. On patients with major wounds, it is necessary to do this periodically throughout the entire stay in order to ensure wounds are improving and to adhere to documentation and compliance protocols."

With the Tablet PC-enabled photo documentation process in place, EJGH drastically reduced hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, which has a significant financial impact. Additionally, caring for patients with wounds is more efficient for physicians and enterostomal therapy (ET) nurse specialists, as they can view the image of the wound prior to the initial visit in order to decide on treatment options and bring needed supplies. ET nurses also report that the wound images help them prioritize which patients are most in need when they have long lists of patients to see.

With its integrated digital and web cameras, EJGH immediately turned to the Motion C5v Tablet PC and equipped its 20 nursing units with the devices. In addition to wound documentation, the nurses can use the devices to access and input patient data. When not in use, the tablets are docked in docking stations and can be used with a mouse, keyboard and monitor as a desktop replacement. According to Torres, clinicians can undock in the middle of documentation and continue inputting information while mobile.