Discussion Response

Patient Call Light Systems

            Patient call light systems are a big advancement in the healthcare world. They are a healthcare informatic that have helped change the way that nurses take care of patients and overall improve the patient care experience. They have also improved patient outcomes during hospitalizations.

            During a conducted research on this topic, studies were done to determine whether or not patient call light systems have helped reduce patient falls during hospitalizations. One study states that a delay in a nurses response to a call light significantly impacts the patients quality of care, as well as their safety (Nelson & Staffileno, 2017). During a specific study, a quality improvement project was completed on two different pediatric medical surgical units at a large Midwest medical center with patients aging from children to young adults (Nelson & Staffileno, 2017). During the project, knowledge of nursing staff, patient outcomes and overall satisfaction, and fall rates were examined before and after interventions of an evidence-based call light intervention bundle. This bundle included purposeful rounding around the surgical unit to answer call lights and check on patients, pod buddy assignments, and staff education (Nelson & Staffileno, 2017). The study concluded that a call light intervention bundle is beneficial in improving staff knowledge and improving overall patient satisfaction, but did not impact fall rates and further study is needed on the subject (Nelson & Staffileno, 2017).

            In another study that was reviewed during a conducted research for this topic, interventions were discussed with nurses as what could be done to prevent an increase in patient call lights and prevent the need for a patient to call for help. Such interventions included ensuring a patients needs are completely met before leaving the room, checking to see if they need to use the restroom before you leave, ensure the patient has water at all times, remember to round on your patients before going on a break and before finishing up for the day, and lastly, complete frequent checks on your patients at least every hour (Ransco, et al., 2016). This study showed that these interventions helped prevent falls and improve patient satisfaction in response to nurses answering their call light promptly, rather than having the nurses run around scattered trying to rush and answer multiple call lights (Ransco, et al., 2016). It is sometimes difficult to determine which patient deserves their call light answered first out of the others, as one may only need water and the other may self-transfer to the bathroom and fall on their way there if you dont get to them fast enough (Ransco, et al., 2016). Preventing excess use of call lights is the best way to prevent falls, as proven in this study (Ransco, et al., 2016). Practice changes recommended for the topic of patient call lights includes ensuring patients needs are met as often as possibly and preventing the use of excessive call lights being pressed.

References

Ransco, M., Daniels, C., Johnson, S., Schumann, K., Fleischmann, A., and Prasad, C.

(2016, October 26). How a surgical unit improved response to call lights. Accelerate.

https://accelerate.uofuhealth.utah.edu/connect/how-a-surgical-unit-improved-response-to-call-lights

Nelson, K., & Staffileno, B. (2017). Improving the patient experience: call light intervention

bundle. J Pediatr Nurs, 36. 37-43. doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2017.04.015

My presentation topic looks at how different aspects of healthcare technology and informatics have been used to combat the COVID 19 pandemic. Technology has been developed and expanded over the past year to enhance the ability to see patients via telehealth, provide exposure notifications via smartphone apps, and track case information using data dashboards(Budd et al.,2020). Key factors in how to manage a pandemic have not changed since the 14th century plague outbreak. Detection and isolation of infectious individuals and the quarantaine of exposed persons are key ways  to help with mitigating community transmission (Budd et al., 2020). The advancement of technology has helped  to provide enhanced surveillance, rapid case identification, interruption of community transmission, and strong public communication(Budd et al.,2020).

In conclusion, the basic concept of a pandemic response has not changed. Rapid case identification and isolation, quarantine of exposed persons, and detection and management of outbreaks play key roles in mitigating the transmission of an illness during a pandemic. The development and expansion of healthcare technology has improved our response and assisted in providing early detection and patient notification and management during the current pandemic.

My area of practice is public health. Many programs in our agency provide clinical services to low income populations. Because of the pandemic, we are changing the way we see patients. Telehealth has become an option for patient management along with curbside medication dispensing. In my office, communicable disease control, we improved how case information and outbreak notifications are captured. An electronic reporting system that automatically identifies positive cases and provides scripted information for case and contact interviews was developed. Through this system we are able to track high risk exposure locations. Monitor the number of breakthrough cases occurring after vaccination, and quickly identify potential outbreak situations. Practice changes for our organization definitely had to occur in order to keep up with the volume of cases, manage outbreaks, and mitigate the transmission of the virus.

Reference

Budd, J., Miller, B.S., Manning, E.M. et al. Digital technologies in the public-health response to COVID-19. Nat Med 26, 11831192 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-1011-4