KINGSTON, June 24, 2015 -- HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley’s patient satisfaction has soared since it started using an information system made by one of the industry’s top suppliers.
The Nursing Department’s change to the new CipherHealth application to streamline recordkeeping during nurses’ hourly hospital rounds led to a marked improvement in patient satisfaction and loyalty, HealthAlliance Administrative Director of Quality and Performance Improvement Jose Serpa said.
“Patient-satisfaction scores have risen significantly since we started using the application, with scores up 10 percent or more in some areas,” Serpa said.
Hospital rounds, a crucial part of sound hospital care, occur when nurses and other clinical staffers make bedside visits to find out how patients feel, evaluate their treatments and document their progress or recuperation.
CipherHealth is a leading innovator of digital products to enhance healthcare quality, improve healthcare outcomes, increase healthcare coordination and thus enrich patient experiences.
The information technology firm’s Orchid hospital-rounds application lets nurses or nursing assistants document clinical information and patient comments gathered during their rounds on touch-screen tablet computers -- a dramatic improvement from the previous practice of handwriting such records on clipboard pads and communicating patient information verbally.
The information is also simultaneously shared through the system to clinical leaders and other clinical staffers so they can immediately know a patient’s condition and other details, said HealthAlliance Chief Nursing Officer Sandra Horan.
“Communication increases among the nursing staff, and if there’s ever a need, we can use the system to immediately message and alert all the appropriate staff people in other departments for rapid follow-up and resolution,” Horan said.
For example, with the CipherHealth system, HealthAlliance nursing staff can proactively alert the Environmental Services Department if a patient’s trash can is starting to fill up or tell Engineering Services about a rattle in a hallway air vent.
“The tool helps us meet patients’ needs sometimes before they realize they have the need,” Horan said. “From responding to health issues and helping patients understand their medicines to knowing a patient would like us to change a pillowcase, the tool is helping us make a dramatic difference.”
Patients appreciate the greater attention to their needs the CipherHealth system lets staffers provide, and it “lets us use more time for personal patient care and compassion, which of course greatly improves the patient experience,” she said.
“The change has also had a positive effect on the nursing staff,” Horan added, explaining nurses experience greater satisfaction “because they know, from one round to the next, details about their patients before they even walk into a patient’s room.”
This changes the way nurses interact with patients, she said. “They don’t have to ask unnecessary questions. Instead, they can have friendly conversations with the patients while they check on their pain level, help them use the restroom, give them meds if needed. The nurses also have more time to do simple but important things like making sure the call button, reading materials, TV remote and other items are all within easy reach.”
HealthAlliance is using CipherHealth’s Orchid rounding tool in all Broadway Campus medical-surgical units after completing a five-month pilot program on the campus. The HealthAlliance Foundation purchased 43 iPad Mini 3 tablet computers the staff uses for $12,000.
CipherHealth Account Strategist Shaan Penmetsa said, “Modern technologies can really have an impact where it counts, and we’re happy to see Orchid has already had such an immediate and significant impact for HealthAlliance.”
About HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley®
HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley® is the alignment of HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary’s Avenue Campus and Broadway Campus, as well as Margaretville Hospital, Mountainside Residential Care Center and Woodland Pond at New Paltz. As the parent organization with a unified governance structure, the goal of HealthAlliance is to strengthen the quality of care and bring forward enhanced technology to serve the present and future healthcare needs in the Hudson Valley. HealthAlliance and its affiliate facilities are committed to providing compassionate, patient-centered care and to ensuring patient safety, privacy and dignity to all. For further information about HealthAlliance, visit our website at www.hahv.org.
About CipherHealth
Since 2009, CipherHealth has been innovating and delivering products to help care providers effectively and efficiently provide quality of care for their patients. By harnessing technology to improve patient outcomes and experiences, CipherHealth and its suite of products focus on the evolution of patient care. CipherHealth is based in New York City and was named “Best Place to Work in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare (2014).
About Orchid
Orchid is a digital application that ensures rounding is happening consistently and effectively. Orchid helps hospitals aggregate data and identify trends while saving staff time. The goal of Orchid is to boost staff efficiency, improve outcomes and increase patient satisfaction.