Integrate clinical mobile devices with single sign-on
Is clinical mobility a goal at your organization? It was for King’s Daughters Medical Center (KDMC), a 99-bed facility in Brookhaven, Mississippi. KDMC is a recipient of many prestigious awards, including Modern Healthcare’s “Best Places to Work” for six out of seven years and Healthcare’s “Most Wired.” Its leadership team takes patient care very seriously and knows that optimal care is achieved with enhanced clinical efficiency and provider satisfaction. At KDMC, that meant a migration to MEDITECH Expanse for its web-based benefits and physician-centric design. “Having worked with various platforms, it’s clear to see that Expanse was developed with physician input, because it has common sense solutions that any provider would appreciate,” says Joe Farr, RN and clinical applications coordinator at KDMC.
To enhance mobility for its nursing staff, KDMC deployed Expanse Point of Care (POC) in conjunction with Zebra clinical mobile devices and Imprivata's Mobile Device Access (MDA). These two solutions are offered with the new MEDITECH-endorsed partnership between ACS MediHealth and Forward Advantage. Together, they provide the enhanced level of care that KDMC strives for with fast, secure access to mobile clinical data and more face-time between patients and caregivers. “We are very excited by the new partnership and the potential it brings to MEDITECH customers,” says David Dean, executive vice president at ACS MediHealth. “In conjunction with MEDITECH, we have heavily tested the Zebra device to ensure peak performance for our joint customers.”
Optimized workflows with single sign-on
Through Forward Advantage, KDMC implemented Imprivata's Enterprise Access Management single sign-on in 2013, and it is now widely used throughout the facility. KDMC’s clinicians and other staff, including Admissions and Business Office personnel, tap in with a proximity badge and enter a single password at the start of a shift. Thereafter, they can simply “tap in” and “tap out” of various workstations without tediously reentering a password. The ease of use and time savings are substantial and have been further enhanced for clinical staff by integrating Enterprise Access Management with roaming sessions using KDMC’s VMware Horizon View Virtual Desktop infrastructure, also optimized through Forward Advantage. “Our CEO is really big on optimization and looks for ways to make what we’re doing even better and more efficient,” says Farr. “It’s hard to overstate the importance of Enterprise Access Management in a clinical environment. If you took away that piece, it would really interfere with our organizational vision for efficiency and optimization. The Zebra devices with Mobile Device Access was a natural next step.”
A MEDITECH-endorsed partnership fast, secure access to zebra clinical mobile devices
The Zebra TC51-HC hand-held devices provide a mobile platform with which KDMC nurses can launch Expanse POC and perform many of their nursing duties from a patient’s bedside. They can even scan and administer medication using a built-in barcode scanner that has been described by Farr as “superior.” Perhaps most important to KDMC is that the Zebra devices come with a built-in proximity reader that allowed them to expand the single sign-on workflow their clinicians are accustomed to on a shared device. As an authorized reseller and implementer for Imprivata, Forward Advantage integrates Imprivata MDA for fast, secure access to the Zebra devices. “We felt very strongly about the Mobile Device Access component,” says Farr. “In fact, we were willing to delay going LIVE with the Zebra devices if it meant waiting to get single sign-on working. That’s how crucial it is to a successful go-LIVE.”
Before and after
Prior to Expanse POC, nurses at KDMC typically used hand-held scanners and wall-mounted computers for medication administration and in-room documentation. Wall-mounted computers were not always on the same side of the room as patients, and the number of steps to administer a medication was inefficient. “I’d have a patient to my left, and a computer on my right,” says Farr. “Add a scanner to my right hand and a pill in my left hand, and I’d have to sync all these things up. It took eight steps to do one thing. Most people wouldn’t consider that very efficient.” Expanse POC takes the EMR and makes it mobile for many of KDMC’s primary nursing functions. The Zebra devices consolidate the EMR and scanner into one, hand-held device. “It’s patient-facing, so I can walk into a room and scan the patient, scan the med, administer the med, and document it all on one device.” The new workflow is so efficient that a respiratory therapist at KDMC has told Farr it cuts his time in half.
Popular among clinicians
Zebra devices at KDMC were never mandated, because they are viewed as an optional tool to enhance clinician workflow. Despite this, the devices have been widely adopted by clinicians – with some areas using them for close to 100% of their medications. The efficiency of the devices, the ability to do more in less time, and single sign-on are all credited for the successful rollout. “Forward Advantage had the best overall vision for the project and made sure we hit all our marks and timelines,” concludes Farr. “Our COO told us that we hit this one out of the park. There’s a lot you can do with the devices, such as load department-specific apps that may be clinically relevant. Our next phase is to implement our secure messaging platform on the devices.”
“KDMC was a pioneer with this project,” says Mike Knebel, VP of sales at Forward Advantage. “They are a valued customer with a clear vision to improve clinical efficiency and patient care. As a MEDITECH partner and Imprivata reseller, Forward Advantage is pleased to be in this unique position to help hospitals like KDMC achieve their vision.”
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