Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 5.5-5 Find Bed: Once a patient has been selected, this ''Bed Finder'' screen is used to locate a specific bed or unit for the
patient. The user first enters various criteria about the type of bed that is needed (e.g., patient gender, monitor required, and negative-
pressure room required). The system then displays all of the available beds that meet the specified criteria. Finally, the user selects
a particular bed or unit for the previously specified patient.
acute units, non-acute units, and/or services (''collaborative
management teams''). In addition, budgeted discharge,
LOS, and care day statistics, along with average and peak
occupancy indicators, are also profiled.
news came in from New York (just 100 miles away)
Hartford Hospital was told to expect hundreds of injured
patients. At that time, the hospital had only seven open
beds, two of which were ICU beds. The BMD played
an important role with respect to providing real-time
occupancy information, predictive capacity manage-
ment, and biosurveillance reporting.
Specifically, the dashboard helped in the following
ways:
It improved efficiency by eliminating the need for
whiteboards and many phone calls
It allowed for predictive occupancy reports to
help free up 150 beds in a timely and orderly
fashion
It provided an efficient way to collect and report
biosurveillance data that were required by the
Connecticut Department of Public Health
The key factor in this success story was that the dash-
board was directly linked to the hospital census database
so that accurate data were constantly available to the
command center. The dashboard displays were easily,
rapidly, and repeatedly revised to facilitate iterative de-
cision making.
Patient confidentiality
A full-security system is embedded within the dashboard
to audit user access and to assign users to definable
system roles. These roles are restricted to specified
processes and are prohibited from viewing or changing
certain data. The system is designed to be fully compliant
with the evolving Health Insurance Portability and Ac-
countability Act (HIPAA) regulations.
The BMD at Hartford Hospital
on September 11, 2001
The dashboard played a critical role at Hartford Hospital
on that terrible day of September 11, 2001. When the
