The impact of telecom and IT on quality

We all know that telecom and IT are vital to a healthcare facility's efficiency, but what role do these departments play in improving quality of care?

This month, Mike looks at how telecom and IT can partner with clinical and other departments to help reduce medical errors.

Do have an idea or topic you'd like us to discuss in Telecom HealthLink? Send us an email at marketing@vericom.net.

The Q.U.E.S.T Project
By Mike Mitchell

Now, more than ever, Telecom and IT are providing the technological expertise necessary to enable the clinical staff to improve quality in healthcare.

DeKalb Medical Center in Decatur, Georgia implemented a quality improvement initiative called Q.U.E.S.T., Quality, Uniformity, Efficiency and Safety through Technology. The goal was to improve quality by creating a standards database to reduce diagnostic and medication errors.

A major component of Q.U.E.S.T. was implementation of Eclipsys’ Sunrise Clinical Manager, a computerized physician order entry system, CPOE. This computerized order entry system increased the speed with which doctor’s orders were issued, eliminated medication dosage errors due to illegible handwriting, and reduced transcription mistakes. Some of the new technologies implemented to improve quality of care included:

• Mobile workstations on each nursing unit for real-time input of doctors’ orders
• Over 130 802.11g wireless access points throughout the hospital
• Multiple house telephones conveniently located inside each nursing unit for faster and more efficient communication with physicians

Technological Expertise

The Telecom/IT team supported this system implementation by working in tandem with clinical staff. How is your telecom team supporting the clinical quality initiatives? Are your Telecom/IT goals aligned with the corporate business goals? If you have the technological expertise to provide solutions, you might consider researching applications to improve quality in the following areas identified in a HIMSS report entitled An Educational Update to the HIMSS Enterprise Information Systems Steering Committee presented in March 2007.

• Human Capital Management (payroll, benefits, training, timekeeping, etc)
• Financial and Accounting Management (A/P, A/R, budgeting, planning, cash management, etc)
• Supply Chain Management (inventory control, purchasing and receiving, planning, etc)
• Infrastructure and Security (I.T. flexibility, business agility, cost reduction, revenue growth, etc)

Patients expect competent medical care from their physicians and hospitals. What differentiates one healthcare provider from another is the quality with which that care is delivered. Telecom/IT are proving their role is critical in providing the technological expertise needed to make crucial quality improvements.

Next month I’ll take a quality check within the Telecom department including projects, personnel, and processes.

One final note, after completion of the Q.U.E.S.T. project and opening a new “all digital” hospital on their third campus, DeKalb Medical Center was named one of the nation’s Top 100 Most Wired Hospitals in 2005.

- Mike

Dear Mike: I try to contribute in meetings at work and offer good ideas, but it seems that no one pays attention. How can I get people to listen to me?

Mike's Answer: I think it's important to look at your interpersonal communication skills. Here are three general guidelines:

• If you want people to listen to you, you must be willing to listen to them.
• Get to the point. People tune out if it takes 5 minutes to say what could be said in 30 seconds.
• Be sure to choose the right person, right place and right time. You may have a great idea or suggestion, but if you share it with the wrong person or at the wrong time, it may be dismissed.

I recommend these books for additional help:

How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less, by Milo Frank.
You've Got to be Believed to be Heard, by Bert Decker.

Have a question for Mike? Email him at mike@telexcellence.com.

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