Automation speeds reporting process
March 1, 1996 2 minutes read
Automation speeds reporting process
Florida hospital saves time with new system
Timely reporting of hospital incidents can be the bane of any risk manager's job. At Tampa (FL) General Healthcare, Paula Bradlee, RN, CHRM, director of risk management, automated the hospital's reporting system to expedite internal reporting and to comply with Florida's requirements.
After a year-long process that included planning, training, and implementing the system, Tampa General now has an automated reporting system that automatically includes all patient information on the reports. All incident reports can be completed and filed with risk management simply by checking boxes on the computer screens. Bradlee says the ease of reporting has saved time and actually encouraged reporting of incidents.
Bradlee advises risk managers who are interested in automating their own reports to get the input of the entire hospital staff. "We used an approach where everyone had a voice and was involved in the process," she says.
The team approach allowed Bradlee to first create a new manual form that suited every department's needs and that could be used as a model on which to base the automated form. (See excerpt from the manual incident report form, p. 32.) She advises that if automation does not work for every department, the system will not be used.
After the new manual form was created, Bradlee worked with her hospital's data processing department to put it on-line. She found that her hospital's computer system already had a reporting component in place, which previously had been untapped. She advises other risk managers to research the capabilities of their existing computer systems before investing in new technologies.
The manual form that Bradlee's automation committee created is useful as a backup reporting tool if the system goes down or if a department does not have access to computers.
Bradlee also advises risk managers to consider confidentiality concerns of putting incident reports on-line. She was able to overcome any concerns she had by creating a program that would only allow the reports to be sent to risk management and the department manager of the unit where the report was made.
The automation has increased the reporting in the hospital and the ease with which nurses and other hospital staff can report incidents. "It's the way to go," she says. "It allows you much faster access to what goes on in the hospital." *
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content