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In its commitment to the digitalization of its activity and the continuous improvement of the quality of care, last June the Palamós Hospital launched the technological solution BC Tracker® of Better Care in its five surgical intervention rooms and eight beds in the resuscitation unit that are also connected, allowing for both preoperative and postoperative monitoring, thus improving patient monitoring and safety.
The objective is to collect, in an automated and structured way, all the data generated by patients not only during their stay in the operating room, but also before and after any intervention.
In addition, thanks to BC Tracker®, healthcare professionals have access to a complete and accurate visualization of the patient's health status, which avoids human errors resulting from the manual recording of vital signs provided by medical devices. In this regard, the solution helps to optimize medical care, prevent complications and ensure a successful recovery, increasing the level of safety for the patient. Since its activation on June 16, all operating rooms at the Palamós Hospital have been operating with this technological tool. More than 400 patients have already passed through them and the number is expected to reach 6,000 by the end of the year.
From the “green leaf” and the counting record to the digital operating room
Another notable aspect of the project is the digitization of the “anesthesia sheet”, a paper document in which key clinical data such as vital signs, medication administration and operating times are collected manually. This sheet is part of the clinical documentation and contains essential information for monitoring patient care. In a manual record, the healthcare professional must review and write down the constants of the operating room monitors every 15 minutes on the anesthesia sheet, so critical information about the patient's health status may be lost. Instead, now, all of this data is automatically saved and visible in BC Tracker®.
In addition, they are integrated into the patient's electronic medical record, reducing the use of paper, the burden of administrative tasks for healthcare personnel and facilitating access to patient information from any postoperative unit.
“This project represents a turning point for our daily clinical practice,” says J.Jose Manuel Marqueta Sanchez, director of Surgical Specialists. “The automation and standardization of certain perioperative processes, as well as access to a single visualization of patient information, gives us a guarantee of being able to work in a safer environment for the patient and more efficient for healthcare professionals.” In addition, with the help of BC Tracker® the operating rooms of the Palamós Hospital have also been able to digitize the counting sheet, which serves to keep accurate control of the material used during a surgical procedure. Its main function is to ensure that items such as gauze, compresses or other surgical instrument are located after surgery.
The system provides an initial view with a bed map showing the patients in each phase of the surgical process: preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative. When accessing each patient's file, the vital signs collected automatically from medical devices such as monitors, ventilators and BIS, among others, are displayed. Here, the key data of the intervention are also recorded, such as admission to the operating room, the administration of anesthesia, the completion of the intervention, possible complications and all the drugs used during the intervention and that the patient will need during the postoperative period.
According to Xavier Garcia Ordoñez, director general of Better Care, “this project revalidates our commitment to the digitalization of healthcare and to providing useful tools to healthcare professionals that have tangible benefits for their daily lives”.
