The Solution
To enable all team members to work in sync, staff was equipped with Zebra-TC Series Touch Computers to receive real-time access to TAGNOS data about each patient’s location and movements inside and outside the OR. TAGNOS’s interoperability with IoT infrastructure automatically collects the location and status of patients via an active RFID-enabled wristband assigned at check-in. In addition, the Zebra-TC Series Touch Computers host an active RFID chip that allows for visibility of staff at critical check-points.
With the TAGNOS solution deployed, staff automatically receives actionable, real-time data as each patient is wheeled in and wheeled out of the OR. As a result, Operating Room Nurses, Anesthesia Technicians, and EVS were empowered with shared communications across 6 operating rooms.
As a patient enters a specific OR, an automated alert is triggered communicating actual surgery start time to all staff roles associated with that room. For the EVS team, patient entry alerts offer actual time-stamped surgery start times, so they can plan their workflows accordingly. Finally, notification of patient’s WO (exit) from the room triggers an automated alert the patient is being moved out and the room is ready for clean-up.
The TAGNOS system automatically captures both the in and out time of EVS via the touch computer. This provides leadership insight into EVS movements and captures the actual time it takes to clean a room (unavailable prior to TAGNOS).
The Results
Automated clinical workflows triggered by real-time location system (RTLS) alerts from TAGNOS and mobile communication with Zebra-TC Series Touch Computers creates a highly synergistic and efficient surgical suite that illuminates actionable information and orchestrates open lines of communication.
This cost reduction breaks down to almost $82,000 per month, or $162,000 for each OR suite annually assuming at least a 3-minute reduction. Streamlining the efforts of EVS and its ‘speed to room’ allows the team to end the day on time and prevents additional use of labor and facility resources, such as overtime charges. Here is a list of significant results provided by OR Orchestration:
9.7%
Room Turnover
Reduction
<104s
Housekeeping “Time to Room”
Improvement
20%
Anesthesia Tech Response Time Increase
41%
EVS “Time to Room” Decrease
$82K
Costs
Savings
$974K
Annual Cost Savings in OR Turnover
In addition to the above benefits, a Turnaround Technician with TAGNOS phone was added to facilitate setup and additional support during turnaround.
The solution yielded some intangible benefits, as well:
- Role-based communication at an OR suite level ensured all relevant staff members are communicating within one, accurate message loop.
- Receiving the same information improved communication and gave teams a stronger perspective on how interrelated their tasks are.
- Staff members feel they are in a better position to schedule their time around surgical activity. It has fostered a high level of teamwork since the ambiguity and burden of communicating simple, yet vital information is completed automatically for them.
In summary, TAGNOS’ solution automatically illuminated and delivered vital patient flow information into the hands of clinical and ancillary team members that improved efficiencies, outcomes, and the patient experience.