New surgical technology piloted at BCHS
 Battle Creek Health System's high standard of surgical
service moved to an even higher level recently. In June,
BCHS activated a pilot clinical system called SurgiNet.
This new application, within the hospital's nationally
recognized electronic health program Genesis, allows
physicians and clinicians to safely document all pre-,
post-, and intra-operative activity in 'real-time.'
The hospital's new SurgiNet function includes:
- Surgical cases scheduling
- Pre-operative anesthesia assessment fully integrated
with the electronic health record (EHR)
- Keeping track of surgical items and inventory
- Documentation of all surgical events in terms of personnel,
timing, and tasks
- Electronic tracking of patient progress throughout
the surgical phases, displayed on a screen in the operating
room
- Electronic tracking boards in family waiting room.
Loved ones are provided a number to identify the patient,
which maintains anonymity
- Monitoring and automatically recording vital signs
during and after surgery
- Providing comprehensive billing reports
"This pilot program goes a long way toward moving
BCHS closer to a completely paperless patient health
record, while at the same time increasing patient safety
through the entire peri-operative care experience,"
says Ann Neeld, vice president of patient care and chief
nursing officer at Battle Creek Health System.
With the multitude of improvements, the new system
also adds an anesthesia component that is being praised
for significantly advancing the clinical documentation
process. Used with SurgiNet, the anesthesia module allows
providers and surgical bedside medical devices to capture
all anesthesia-related information electronically so
it can send it directly into the electronic health record.
This includes:
- Heart rate, blood pressure and dozens of other vital
readings
- Drug administrations
- Fluid intake, blood loss, and urinary output
- Airway management tasks and devices, patient protection
measures, nerve block details, and other anesthesia-related
activities
"This module reduces the repetitive burden of
writing down new information every five minutes, which
is the minimum legal requirement during anesthesia,"
says Dr. Steven Lins, chair of the BCHS anesthesia department..
"It allows precise recording of what goes on with
the patient every 60 seconds if desired, and offers
the added confidence of technology 'writing' it down
automatically."
This can prove extremely important, especially in cases
if something might occur unexpected during surgery,
shifting attention away from documentation. The system
records the data in an unbiased fashion offering more
detailed documentation, while reducing potential errors.
"The staff has been very positive about this new
tool so far," says Dr. Jeffrey Mitchell, vice president
of medical affairs and chief medical officer. "Anesthesiologists
and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs)
have been using paper as a backup during this pilot
project. They are already asking to go paperless, because
they feel confident with the system capabilities."
"More than a year ago, members of the surgical
nursing, CRNAs, and anesthesiologists' team bore the
majority of work redesigning the entire surgical care
process from pre-op to the post anesthesia care unit
(PACU)," says Neeld. "The success of this
pilot program is a direct result of that long-term leadership
commitment in planning."
BCHS is only the sixth hospital in the nation to implement
this anesthesia module.
Battle Creek Health System, sponsored by two parent
organizations--Trinity Health (the fourth largest Catholic
health system in the U.S. with 12 hospitals, 9 nursing
homes, 19 senior house facilities, 8 home health care
agencies, and 4 hospices in Michigan alone) and BCHS
Community Partners, is accredited by the Joint Commission
on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Battle
Creek Health System as a recipient of the 2008 HealthGrades
Orthopaedic Surgery Excellence Award(tm). HealthGrades
is a leading health care information company that provides
objective 'report card' ratings nationwide. BCHS provides
excellent health care for the community and promotes
wellness for the whole person with access and compassion
for all. For the latest medical information, visit the
BCHS web site at www.bchealth.com or call the BCHS Marketing
Department at (269) 966-8132.
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