Oklahoma Heart Hospital: Taking Patient Data & Integration To Heart
Sponsored by an educational grant from Dräger
Immediate access to patient information is critical in delivering excellent patient care. Oklahoma Heart Hospital, a two-hospital, 145 licensed-bed system with 54 affiliated clinics located across the state of Oklahoma has been focused on innovative ways of integrating and delivering patient data since their first facility opened as the nation's first all-digital hospital in 2002. Since then, they have pushed the limits of technology to link caregivers with streamlined access to data, allowing for rapid patient assessment, effective decision support and excellence in patient care and satisfaction.
A key component of Oklahoma Heart Hospital's successful digitization strategy is their careful and widespread integration of medical devices and clinical information systems into their robust clinical and IT environment. They are dedicated to implementing leading-edge technology from Wi-Fi-based mobile patient monitors and clinical IT workstations, to smartphones carried by nurses to drive more effective, immediate and intuitive clinical decision making, and thus better patient care. This also provides better clinician workflow and allows nurses and physicians to dedicate their time to patients, rather than searching for data and test results.
To caregivers, this complex process is simple and transparent, as patient data from myriad devices and clinical IT systems are always available, always up to date and at their fingertips. The point of care is often the bedside where clinicians interact with the clinical workstation to gain insight from data such as vital signs, x-ray or CT images and lab values.
The centerpieces of these distinct clinical and workflow benefits are Dräger's Infinity M300 patient-worn monitor, the Infinity C700 Clinical IT Workstation and the Infinity Gateway interfacing server—the communication and translation hub orchestrating all connected devices and information systems. These technologies are integrated seamlessly and piggyback on the strength and flexibility of the hospital's established, and standards-based, wired and wireless network infrastructure.
Oklahoma residents depend heavily on Oklahoma Heart Hospital; the area represents one of America's sickest cardiac patient populations with high levels of coronary heart disease and stroke. As a result, the facility handles some of the largest cardiac volumes in the nation. And as clinical studies have documented, facilities with the highest volumes also have better clinical outcomes. Studies find lower patient mortality rates for a given procedure when the hospital or physician has high-volume experience performing that procedure (Annals of Internal Medicine, Sept. 17, 2002).
The strategy to create an ecosystem of linked devices and leading-edge technology comes from the top. Oklahoma Heart Hospital President and CEO John Harvey, MD, is a practicing cardiologist, so he knows the importance of easy access to patient data. And he also knows the benefit of getting patients back on their feet more quickly so they can rehabilitate by walking through the halls, or around the grounds, all the while being carefully monitored anywhere in the facility by the Infinity M300.
"We look to create the best experience for patients, staff, and physicians," says Harvey, "and for that, we look to technology and integration to allow us to automate and eliminate mistakes…[For that,] we must capture data and make the process user friendly while presenting it in a manner caregivers will use. We want everything available at the fingertips of the doctor or caregiver."
"Oklahoma Heart Hospital is committed to nurses caring for no more than four patients at a time, as compared to other hospitals where a nurse may be assigned twice that number of patients," says CIO Steve Miller. "These devices improve patient care because if a patient codes or experiences a critical event, the nurse can see on the display what the patient's condition is and immediately attend to the patient's needs. The uniqueness of our environment comes in the fact that the display might be the one worn by the patient, the one at the nurses' station, or the one they are carrying on their hand-held mobile device."
The Infinity M300 replaced aging telemetry technology which required an additional, separate antenna system and separate cabling. "The real beauty of the Dräger Infinity M300 mobile patient monitoring system is the way it fit into our technical environment. We didn't have to do anything elaborate to fit the devices into our IT ecosystem. We were already building a Wi-Fi infrastructure capable of handling everything from Wi-Fi phones to mobile x-rays and ultrasounds. The Wi-Fi certified M300 allows us to focus all our efforts into providing one highly reliable and redundant wireless infrastructure. We addressed security concerns through the device's support of WPA2 encryption standards," continues Miller, who has served as CIO for the past 5 years and sets the overall technical architecture for the hospitals and clinics.
"This is the next generation of telemetry," notes Denise Bragg, director of nursing, post critical care units and day patients. "The M300 improves the patients' overall well-being, because it's much easier now to move the patient around. Also, because the waveform and oxygenation levels are displayed right on the devices, the nurse can respond to alarms in real-time."
Another key component of the overall Oklahoma Heart Hospital digitization strategy is Dräger's Infinity C700 Clinical IT Workstation, linked with the Infinity Delta vital signs monitor. Suzanne Charbeneau, director of surgery at Oklahoma Heart Hospital, notes that the Infinity C700 represents a major breakthrough in fingertip access to any information the physician needs in the OR. The device's touchscreen allows anesthesiologists to access extensive information, including radiology images and patient charts, she says.
It also frees the clinician from having to document during an alert. "This is a huge benefit because the system is downloading information into the EMR during an event," Charbeneau says. "For example, when a patient codes in the OR, the anesthesiologist and other clinicians are no longer distracted by having to look at the computer. Documentation is not the focus at that time; instead they're addressing the code. This system automatically notes at what point events transpired on the monitor so they can document the actions taken and medications given."
The innovative approach that Oklahoma Heart Hospital deploys in adopting technologies, such as continuous mobile patient monitoring, digitization and data integration allows clinicians to focus on better ways of caring for the patient. All of this is part of a superior strategy. "Our goal is better coordinated care across all of our environments," Harvey says. "There is no question it increases efficiency [in the inpatient environment] for nurses, but it also offers a tremendous benefit in outpatient care to have all patient information always accessible. That is how care gets better; by being highly coordinated."
Immediate access to patient information is critical in delivering excellent patient care. Oklahoma Heart Hospital, a two-hospital, 145 licensed-bed system with 54 affiliated clinics located across the state of Oklahoma has been focused on innovative ways of integrating and delivering patient data since their first facility opened as the nation's first all-digital hospital in 2002. Since then, they have pushed the limits of technology to link caregivers with streamlined access to data, allowing for rapid patient assessment, effective decision support and excellence in patient care and satisfaction.
A key component of Oklahoma Heart Hospital's successful digitization strategy is their careful and widespread integration of medical devices and clinical information systems into their robust clinical and IT environment. They are dedicated to implementing leading-edge technology from Wi-Fi-based mobile patient monitors and clinical IT workstations, to smartphones carried by nurses to drive more effective, immediate and intuitive clinical decision making, and thus better patient care. This also provides better clinician workflow and allows nurses and physicians to dedicate their time to patients, rather than searching for data and test results.
To caregivers, this complex process is simple and transparent, as patient data from myriad devices and clinical IT systems are always available, always up to date and at their fingertips. The point of care is often the bedside where clinicians interact with the clinical workstation to gain insight from data such as vital signs, x-ray or CT images and lab values.
The centerpieces of these distinct clinical and workflow benefits are Dräger's Infinity M300 patient-worn monitor, the Infinity C700 Clinical IT Workstation and the Infinity Gateway interfacing server—the communication and translation hub orchestrating all connected devices and information systems. These technologies are integrated seamlessly and piggyback on the strength and flexibility of the hospital's established, and standards-based, wired and wireless network infrastructure.
Oklahoma residents depend heavily on Oklahoma Heart Hospital; the area represents one of America's sickest cardiac patient populations with high levels of coronary heart disease and stroke. As a result, the facility handles some of the largest cardiac volumes in the nation. And as clinical studies have documented, facilities with the highest volumes also have better clinical outcomes. Studies find lower patient mortality rates for a given procedure when the hospital or physician has high-volume experience performing that procedure (Annals of Internal Medicine, Sept. 17, 2002).
The strategy to create an ecosystem of linked devices and leading-edge technology comes from the top. Oklahoma Heart Hospital President and CEO John Harvey, MD, is a practicing cardiologist, so he knows the importance of easy access to patient data. And he also knows the benefit of getting patients back on their feet more quickly so they can rehabilitate by walking through the halls, or around the grounds, all the while being carefully monitored anywhere in the facility by the Infinity M300.
"We look to create the best experience for patients, staff, and physicians," says Harvey, "and for that, we look to technology and integration to allow us to automate and eliminate mistakes…[For that,] we must capture data and make the process user friendly while presenting it in a manner caregivers will use. We want everything available at the fingertips of the doctor or caregiver."
The technology inside
The device that provides uninterrupted mobile patient monitoring is the Infinity M300, a small, light-weight mobile vital signs monitor with a color display, worn by nearly every patient at Oklahoma Heart Hospital throughout his or her stay."Oklahoma Heart Hospital is committed to nurses caring for no more than four patients at a time, as compared to other hospitals where a nurse may be assigned twice that number of patients," says CIO Steve Miller. "These devices improve patient care because if a patient codes or experiences a critical event, the nurse can see on the display what the patient's condition is and immediately attend to the patient's needs. The uniqueness of our environment comes in the fact that the display might be the one worn by the patient, the one at the nurses' station, or the one they are carrying on their hand-held mobile device."
The Infinity M300 replaced aging telemetry technology which required an additional, separate antenna system and separate cabling. "The real beauty of the Dräger Infinity M300 mobile patient monitoring system is the way it fit into our technical environment. We didn't have to do anything elaborate to fit the devices into our IT ecosystem. We were already building a Wi-Fi infrastructure capable of handling everything from Wi-Fi phones to mobile x-rays and ultrasounds. The Wi-Fi certified M300 allows us to focus all our efforts into providing one highly reliable and redundant wireless infrastructure. We addressed security concerns through the device's support of WPA2 encryption standards," continues Miller, who has served as CIO for the past 5 years and sets the overall technical architecture for the hospitals and clinics.
"This is the next generation of telemetry," notes Denise Bragg, director of nursing, post critical care units and day patients. "The M300 improves the patients' overall well-being, because it's much easier now to move the patient around. Also, because the waveform and oxygenation levels are displayed right on the devices, the nurse can respond to alarms in real-time."
Another key component of the overall Oklahoma Heart Hospital digitization strategy is Dräger's Infinity C700 Clinical IT Workstation, linked with the Infinity Delta vital signs monitor. Suzanne Charbeneau, director of surgery at Oklahoma Heart Hospital, notes that the Infinity C700 represents a major breakthrough in fingertip access to any information the physician needs in the OR. The device's touchscreen allows anesthesiologists to access extensive information, including radiology images and patient charts, she says.
It also frees the clinician from having to document during an alert. "This is a huge benefit because the system is downloading information into the EMR during an event," Charbeneau says. "For example, when a patient codes in the OR, the anesthesiologist and other clinicians are no longer distracted by having to look at the computer. Documentation is not the focus at that time; instead they're addressing the code. This system automatically notes at what point events transpired on the monitor so they can document the actions taken and medications given."
Uniting critical data for better patient care
While executing and managing this sophisticated integration of relevant clinical information is complex, the systems and processes implemented are working completely in the background. And they should be. Caregivers don't need to know, nor worry about, how the patient information is routed—just that it is always up to date, reliable and available where and when they need it. Oklahoma Heart Hospital and its technology vendors have made a complex system look simple.The innovative approach that Oklahoma Heart Hospital deploys in adopting technologies, such as continuous mobile patient monitoring, digitization and data integration allows clinicians to focus on better ways of caring for the patient. All of this is part of a superior strategy. "Our goal is better coordinated care across all of our environments," Harvey says. "There is no question it increases efficiency [in the inpatient environment] for nurses, but it also offers a tremendous benefit in outpatient care to have all patient information always accessible. That is how care gets better; by being highly coordinated."
Mary C. Tierney, MS, Vice President & Chief Content Officer, TriMed Media Group
Mary joined TriMed Media in 2003. She was the founding editor and editorial director of Health Imaging, Cardiovascular Business, Molecular Imaging Insight and CMIO, now known as Clinical Innovation + Technology. Prior to TriMed, Mary was the editorial director of HealthTech Publishing Company, where she had worked since 1991. While there, she oversaw four magazines and related online media, and piloted the launch of two magazines and websites. Mary holds a master’s in journalism from Syracuse University. She lives in East Greenwich, R.I., and when not working, she is usually running around after her family, taking photos or cooking.