Patient Self-Streaming in the Emergency Department
The use of digital technologies for self-streaming in emergency departments is set to rise, amid reports that the NHS four-hour A&E target has not been met nationally since 2015.
It’s a similar picture in most developed countries with emergency departments facing increases in attendances, without any comparable increase in staff or resources.
Developed for the NHS and proven at hospitals in Canada, Sweden and Northern Ireland, Savience’s solution employs self-service kiosks to sort urgent and non-urgent cases. On arrival, patients are presented with a touchscreen and series of questions to separate cases and route people to the appropriate care point.
This self-streaming frees emergency care teams to focus on the most serious and urgent cases, while less urgent cases are referred to more appropriate resources.
With patient details available instantly, emergency care teams can prioritise workloads, plan clinical workflows and prepare for a patient’s arrival. Users report fewer delays, less downtime, smoother workflows and greater patient satisfaction.
The actual streams are governed by rules set by the individual hospital according to local policies, type of presenting injury or illness and availability of resources.
Features and benefits
The data harvested from emergency departments is used to monitor clinic activity, help with financial reconciliation, and report on targets and waiting times. It’s also an invaluable tool for planning staff resources, future services, and to secure existing revenue streams.
- Patient waiting time is reduced and they can be treated more effectively
- Easy-to-follow graphics
- Staff immediately review how urgently medical care is needed and record the patient’s visit
- Faster triage means faster patient flow through the emergency department
- Clear, at-a-glance information is provided quickly
- Staff need only a minimal number of keystrokes to enter and retrieve vital patient information
- Patient feedback can be used to build and improve emergency department services
- Displays can be configured to show information about the hospital, other local health resources, and to promote healthy lifestyles
