Visual Displays: Hospitals Could Take a Lesson from Airports
By Bob Gleason-Moore RN, MN
I travel for work. I travel to hospitals often and I'm in airports… a lot. Have you ever noticed groups of people gathered around the large display screens to see where their flight will depart, whether it's delayed, and the specific planned departure time?
I know the airlines have apps for my mobile device, but I still like to validate flight information on electronic displays without having to keep pulling out my phone. Plus, different people have different levels of technology access and familiarity. The big display screens are a very quick easy glance-and-go way to keep the crowds all moving in the right direction. They save time and drive our behavior.
The same set of visual displays can also benefit the clinical team in the hospital - to keep them moving collectively in the right direction. The hospital staff has access to some or many electronic systems that provide them with details related to caring for patients. Clinicians (physicians, nurses, therapists, etc.) have access to the EMR and can dig down to find a wealth of details about their patients. However, to find this information they need to log in, click down several levels into detail screens, and focus specifically on what they are looking for at that moment. This is because most views are specific to a role.
What can help align the entire team simultaneously and doesn’t require any software access or clicking? How about electronic displays that are placed strategically for the collective care team to view? Just like in the airport, there would be certain pieces of information that most of the team find helpful to keep the team aligned, in real-time, on the patients’ progress in the hospital. A patient's current location, service schedule, planned discharge date, and expected delays all give the clinical team that "glance-and-go" information so they can quickly and easily know what to do next.
Imagine a clinical team member walking onto an inpatient unit. He or she may want to know where the patient is currently or which physician or nurse is caring for the patient and how to contact them. When there isn't an easily visible display board with this information, they have to ask the unit secretary or others on the unit for that information. They may or may not know where the patient is unless they ask another person or log into the EMR. Even then, the EMR may not truly reflect where the patient is currently located. All of this is wasted time and effort. It would not be so difficult if only those visual displays were there to guide and inform you at a glance.
The airport may seem like a chaotic, busy place, but there’s a strange sense of order behind it all. I can always find comfort in the easy glance upward to see all the information I need to get where I need to go on time. In a world where our care providers have been pushed to their very limits in the midst of a chaotic hospital environment, isn’t it time we give them the same?