White Paper:

Mobilizing Patient Care

Mobile Solutions Are a Game Changer for Hospital-Based Nurses

Emerging mobile and wearabletechnology solutions are makinginroads with hospital-basednurses nationwide to transformhow patient care is practicedand delivered at the bedside.

This white paper describeshow nurses are using mobiletechnologies to streamlineclinical communications,improve quality of care, andenhance patient engagement.

It also identifies the hospital ITinfrastructure improvementsrequired to support mobile endusers and protect patient data.

Nurses are the single largesthealthcare professionalgroup in the United Stateswith 1.86 million registeredmembers working in hospital-based environments. Asmobile professionals, theyare continuously on the movecaring for patients, coordinatingcare with team members, andeducating patients and familymembers about their conditionsand treatments. They have aconstant need for direct andimmediate communications withcolleagues and patients, as wellas real-time access to patientdata at point of care.1

Mobile technologies includingsmartphones, tablets andwearables are transforming howhospital-based nurses practiceand deliver patient care at thebedside. These technologiesare replacing fixed locationcomputers, pagers, and landlinephones as the preferred platformfor securely accessing patientdata and communicating withcare team members from anylocation and at any time.

A Spyglass Consulting Groupreport found 67 percent ofhospitals surveyed have staffnurses widely using personalsmartphones during normalwork hours to support patientcare. Personal devices areused because nurses aredissatisfied with the technologyoptions provided by hospital ITto address their computing andcommunications needs, whichthey find, are inconvenient,difficult to use, and have limitedfunctionality.2

Technological innovation andadvancements are improvingthe availability, functionality,and quality of mobile devices

and applications. Nurses areapplying increasing pressureon hospital IT to provide themwith mobile solutions integratedwith existing clinical informationsystems, biomedical devices,and the nurse call system.With the emergence of patientcentered care models and value-based purchasing, hospital IThas an imperative to evaluateand make investments in secureenterprise-class mobile solutions. These solutions must address the needs of nurses requiring real-time communicationsand collaboration tools tosupport team-based care withinthe hospital and across thecommunity.

iNTRO: MObile SOluTiONS ARe A GAMe ChANGeR

MObile TeChNOlOGy TRANSfORMS PATieNT CARe

67%of hospitals have nursesusing personal smartphonesfor patient care.

Nurses require a mobile platform that provides a consistent end user experience across different devices including smartphones, tablets, and wearable technologies. They must have the flexibility to select the right mobile device for the right clinical task to streamline workflow and efficiency. The right device is dependent upon a number of factors including clinical tasks performed, application complexity, healthcare environment, form factor and personal preferences.

Mobile devices used on a nursing unit must be

• intuitive and easy to use• light weight, and convenient

to carry

• durable enough to sustain multiple drops

• easily cleaned and disinfected• exceptional battery life and

quickly chargeable

Smaller devices such as a smartphone provides immediacy and convenience well suited for

• communicating with care team members

• receiving clinical notifications and alerts

• collecting vital signs • reviewing lab results• identifying patients for

medication administration

Larger devices such as a tablet are well suited at the bedside for• accessing the patient’s

electronic medical record• generating structured clinical

documentation• viewing diagnostic images• educating patients about their

condition• researching health-related

information

Emerging wearable technologies such as smartwatches provide at-a-glance capabilities that may be ideal for quickly scanning through abbreviated messages, notifications and alerts. If anything requires immediate attention, nurses can step aside and pull out their smartphone for increased contextual information.

Nurses require a mobile platform to streamline clinical communications, improve care team collaboration, and enhance care coordination to support population health initiatives across the healthcare continuum.

The Joint Commission, the nation’s predominant standards-setting and accrediting body, identified the primary root cause of more than 70 percent of treatment delays and sentinel events as being caused by a breakdown in communications. They also identified improved staff communications as a National Patient Safety Goal for hospitals in 2010.

Mobile devices integrated with the hospital’s unified communications system enables the nurse to use

voice, text messaging, e-mail, and mobile apps to communicate the right patient data, at the right time, to the right team member, and in the right format to improve care team collaboration regardless of their physical location.

Key mobile unified communications capabilities include:• VoIPintegration that enables

a nurse to use a mobile device to communicate with care team members through the hospital’s PBX over the WLAN. Accessible PBX features include extension dialing, conferencing calling, company directory, and call transfer.

• Securetextmessaging that allows a nurse to exchange secure HIPAA-compliant text messages to support patient

care or address administrative responsibilities. Text messaging is less intrusive than a telephone call, which could interrupt a colleague who may be in the middle of performing a medical treatment or procedure.

• Videoconferencingthat empowers a nurse to arrange virtual face-to-face consultations with physicians, medical specialists and other care team members who may be located in different geographic locations.

• Unifiedcontactdirectory that supports a nurse to access up-to-date contact information for colleagues, care team members and administrative staff. With presence management features, nurses can identify a team member’s availability and willingness to communicate.

RiGhT MObile DeviCe fOR The RiGhT CliNiCAl TASk

MObile SOluTiONS STReAMliNe CliNiCAl COMMuNiCATiONS

Nurses require a mobile platform to improve patient care quality and outcomes.

Real-TimePatientData Access. Nurses must have access to clinical data to make informed critical care decisions and document patient care. Unfortunately, nurses are constantly on the move as they go from bed-to-bed taking care of their assigned patients and they do not always have access to a desktop computer, a computer-on-wheels (COW), or a bedside terminal, which may lead to medical errors in the care process, as well as waste precious time.

Mobile solutions integrated with the Electronic Health Record (EHR) can improve clinical decision-making while streamlining nursing workflow. Nurses can use a mobile device to generate progress notes, collect vital signs and I/O, review lab results, or access medical reference. If the mobile device’s screen is too small, nurses can wirelessly dock the device to a full size keyboard and monitor to

access the patient’s full medical record, document a full head-to-toe assessment, or view diagnostic quality images.

ClinicalNotificationsandAlerts. Nurses are experiencing alert/alarm fatigue by the sheer volume of bells, rings, beeps and buzzers generated by different medical devices at point of care. Frequent false and nuisance alarms cause nurses to ignore alarms or lower their volume, which can negatively affect patient care and safety.

Nurses can use a mobile device to receive text-based notifications if a patient’s condition deteriorates or becomes life threatening requiring immediate action. Alarms, vital signs, and wave strips provide the nurse with adequate context to determine the most appropriate response to stabilize the patient. Clinical alerts can be redirected to other qualified care team members or a supervisor if the primary nurse does not respond within a specified period.

BarCodingMedicationAdministration. The majority of adverse drug events can be attributed to inadequate availability of drug and patient information at the time of ordering. Secondarily they are attributed to a failure to accurately verify the medication dose and patient identity. Medication errors are blamed for about 7,000 deaths annually. A medication error can cost a hospital $2,000 to $4,000, without factoring in the malpractice costs that could be involved with errors that are more serious.

Mobile devices with integrated bar code scanners can support positive identification applications such as bar coding medication administration. These solutions support medication management by assisting in detecting medications that have not been prescribed for a patient and alert nurses when the dose they are about to deliver does not match the medical order or is not yet due.

MObile SOluTiONS iMPROve CARe QuAliTy AND OuTCOMeS

of treatment delays and sentinel events are caused by communication breakdowns

70% $$4,000without factoring in

the malpractice costs

A medication error can cost a hospital up to

Nurses require a mobile platform to enhance patient satisfaction and engage patients in the care process.

PatientEducation. Nurses can assist in the education of patients about their medical condition(s), treatment plans, prescribed medications, and discharge instructions during bedside encounters. Peer reviewed research finds that patients who understand their condition and care plan are less likely to be readmitted or visit the emergency department after discharge.

Nurses can provide the patient with a mobile device with access to on-demand educational

content so that they can view prescribed educational video and listen to recorded discharge instructions.

NurseCallIntegration. Nurses are responsible for addressing patient’s urgent and non-urgent needs. Hospital-based patients often communicate with the nurse through the nurse call system. When a patient presses the nurse call button located near the bed, a red light is illuminated above the patient’s hallway door and/or a signal alert is sent to the nurse’s station. The nurse or nursing assistant will respond to the nurse call request by visiting the patient’s room when time permits.

Mobile devices integrated with the hospital’s nurse call system can allow nurses to receive text-based alerts on their device when the patient hits the call bell notifying them of the patient’s name, room number, and alert type. Nurses can also use their mobile device to call the patient’s bedside phone to qualify the patient’s service request.

MObile SOluTiONS eNhANCe PATieNT SATiSfACTiON AND eNGAGeMeNT

Hospital IT requires mobile infrastructure investments to support mobile end users, protect patient data, and ensure regulatory compliance.

Hospitals operate within a highly regulated environment. Unprotected mobile devices may introduce malicious attacks, malware and viruses to the hospital’s infrastructure, which could lead to performance degradation and potential security breaches. A recent HIPAA Omnibus Ruling (March 2013) indicates that hospitals found guilty of data breaches can be fined upwards of $1.5 million per incident.

A Spyglass Consulting Group report found that 56 percent of hospitals interviewed expressed

concerns that staff nurses using personal smartphones were not adequately protecting their devices. Seventy-one percent of these organizations also indicated that they lacked network management and mobile device management tools to monitor, manage, and support mobile users, devices and applications on the network.

Hospital IT must define enterprise-wide mobile usage policies and deploy infrastructure technologies to manage staff nurses who are using hospital-owned or personally owned (BYOD) mobile devices to support patient care. These policies and procedures will enable hospital IT to communicate who can use mobile technologies on the hospital’s network, which devices, operating systems and

applications can be used, and how these technologies must be secured, managed and monitored.

MobileDeviceManagement(MDM) solutions enable hospital IT to secure, monitor, manage and support mobile devices connected to the wireless LAN. Over-the-air application distribution, ‘sandboxing’ to remotely wipe patient data from mobile devices and the ability to remotely configure mobile devices are part of any mobile strategy

VirtualDesktopInfrastructure(VDI) is another option that allows hospitals to restrict mobile access to clinical desktop applications through a thin client ensuring patient data is not stored on the device.

Smartphones, tablets and wearable technologies are gaining traction with hospital-based nurses nationwide to transform how patient care is practiced and delivered at the bedside. These solutions are rapidly replacing fixed location computers and landline phones as the preferred platform

for securely accessing patient data and communicating with care team members regardless of their physical location.

Despite advancements and innovation in mobile devices and unified communications, hospital IT has underinvested in these

technology solutions to support collaborative-team-based care. New patient-centered care models and value-based purchasing have created an imperative for hospital IT to evaluate and invest in secure enterprise-class mobile solutions and infrastructure.

Learn more: samsung.com/healthcare | 1-800-SAMSUNG | 1-866-SAM4BIZ

Follow us: youtube.com/samsungbizusa | @SamsungBizUSA

© 2015 Samsung Electronics America, Inc. All rights reserved. Samsung is a registered trademark of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. All products, logos and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. This white paper is for informational purposes only. Samsung makes no warranties, express or implied, in this white paper. WHP-HC-MOBILIZINGPATIENTCARE-OCT15J

MObile SOluTiONS ReQuiRe RObuST iNfRASTRuCTuRe TO PROTeCT PATieNT DATA

CONCluSiON