It's a Tool not a Toy

I had to make a change….it was hard…my needs weren’t being met…..after lots of consideration….I got a new phone.   It all started when my husband made a change I couldn’t believe… he bought a Samsung Galaxy (aka the phablet – phone/tablet).  I teased him a lot…why would anyone want anything other than the iphone.  

My love of these little Apple Devices started about 4 years ago…..The first time I saw our software, Aperum, on an iPad I was hooked – mobilizing our software allowed it to be utilized at the point of care.  The ipad is so simple to use – it’s cute – it’s trendy – dare I say sexy. In the past 4 years, I have purchased dozens of “i” products.  (Especially after I met the REQUIRED otterbox – nothing breaks like an iphone.)   As we have grown, we have made lots of trips to the AT&T store to buy new iPads for our people.  On one such trip, Kristal (our VP) and I were waiting on the salesman to retrieve our next iPad when she asked about the Samsung that David just purchased.  I teased – I joked – but by the time our sales guy got back with the tablet we were logged into Aperum and playing with it on the Samsung.  Then….it happened….he began to run us thru features…I drooled…. These were things we only dreamed about on the Apple. 

Here is what I love and why I eventually bought a Phablet….

1)      The built in Stylus….I admit I thought this is really useless and will never be used.   I use it all the time – it automatically unlocks the device when removed from its safe little corner home.  It makes selecting and typing a breeze.

2)      Typing….using the slide function where instead of typing you slide the stylus across a series of letters.  Frankly, it looks like magic that it knows what word to select.  It’s super simple and quick.

3)      Writing…there is a function on the tablet where you can write with the stylus.  I will admit the first few times it wrote some words…. maybe it was just me getting used to it but it seemed to learn my handwriting the more I used it.  It became more accurate as time went on. Which was good because I had a really embarrassing demo when it translated what I wrote into a swear word…

4)      Voice Recording…yes…it works…it’s cool. Again, use it a few times before you demonstrate it….

Here is what I find troubling…..we talk to dozens of hospitals a month and it is a rare event that the clinical staff is enabled with a tablet or even a smart phone.  I am not even just talking about floor nurses – I am talking clinical leadership. 

When we show our software and how easy it is to use at the bedside… we have nurse managers asking their CNO if they can bring in their own tablet to use.  Why?  It’s not only because they see the value of automation in their leadership rounding process using Aperum.  Frankly, they see the value of smart devices – it is not uncommon for nurses carry their personal smart phones in the pockets so they can use aps that help them do their jobs.

So, what is holding hospitals back? Budgets? Device Selection? Device Management? “Ap” Selection / Deployment? 

Here are some quicks Do’s and Don’ts:

·         Don’t Buy a Tablet for one application. (unless it’s ours.. J)  The hospital should create a team to research and understand the usability for different applications in their hospital.  Different teams need different applications.  These applications should show value in safety and satisfaction.

·         Do identify application that align with the hospital’s care models and strategies to enable safer and more satisfying patient care.

·         Do identify a mobile device management platform that meets your needs.

·         Do engage IT…. I know it sounds silly to say, but there have been times when we come to hospitals and the IT department is avoided by the clinical department (which is a blog all in itself)

·         Do buy cases….a serious cases like Otter Boxes.  Make sure you engage your infection control team to identify how these devices will be cleaned.  We have tested all sorts of cases….ones with built in keypads, zipper fronts, plush, and flashy – some of our hospitals launch their tablets naked….let’s just say mistakes were made….

·         Do understand that they are practically disposable….did I say that outloud? Yes, just like your “purpose driven” wireless phones that nurses carry.  Either buy the replacement plans for them or have a budget allocated for replacements.

·         Do buy a nice tablet….I have the war wounds on this one…cheap tablets stink in a hospital setting.  Spend the money get a name brand.

We are going to be testing Aperum in some live environments with different tools in the coming weeks.  We have hospitals looking at the Surface and others looking at the new Spectralink Smart Phone – it’s fun to be vendor neutral and get to play with all sorts of different toys…I mean tools. J  I will update you all on what we identify as positives and negatives.

Are you a Nurse or Nurse Leader?
Want to win a FREE Samsung Galaxy Tablet?

1) Like our Facebook Page
2) Share the Update with this Blog Post
3) Post a comment below about how your hospital uses tablets or smart phones.

AONE 2013 Patient Need Based Acuity

My husband ran a distribution center  for 13 years.  When we met had around 150+ employees and through automation, software, and workflow modification was able to reduce the employee count to less than 10% of that number.  His guiding principal was to break tasks down and manage the individuals according to the time it took an average person to accomplish the task.   He and his team could watch a process and identify skills sets and aptitudes that allowed them to manage the team to accomplish the goal in a timely way with a low error rate.

As I have researched acuity it seems to be a similar structure.  The DRG defines a grouping of tasks and the tasks have an associated average time of completion (geeks call this a weight) and the assignment is made based on how many “tasks” can be completed within a shift.  Then the patients are assigned to the caregivers based on the workload associated.  That’s when I started to ask questions….are we treating nurses like assembly line workers?   How does this affect how we assign them to a patient – does our technology really support the mindset?

I have watched this process at a number of hospitals, interviewed a number of managers and I do believe that it’s much more of an art than a science.    In the last few years I have also observed several production facilities - from a Milk Farm to a Coffee Roasterie to Electronics manufacture.  The thing that jumped out at me……the product or coffee bean or electronic doesn’t drive any additional demand or strain on an assembly workers day.  There are outliers where a piece of material is bad but for the most part it’s pick up the widget, put it in a box, etc.   The point is – the widget doesn’t ask for ice chips when you are trying to complete other assigned tasks....the widget dosen't code.   

I get it – there has to be a way to balance the workload of the caregiver and acuity (aka task management) seems to be the best method.  I am not trying to disregard the years of research and work done in creating the tasks associated with diagnosis, etc  but there is more here than just a task list.  We at Sphere3 believe there is a way to capture additional information to make assignment of patients easier and managing the workload more effective.  Stop by and check it out.

I am eager to see at AONE this week how many vendors try to tout their technology as a way to reduce staff….be careful with those statements…..technology should be an enabling tool the data should give the ability to manage the workload more effectively.  Patients aren't Widgets – Caregivers aren’t assembly line workers.   

If you would like to see how Aperum® can help your facility better manage workload of your caregivers stop by BOOTH 727 this week at AONE.