Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

18 Executive Briefing EXECUTIVE BRIEFING 1 M any hospitals and health systems face barriers in leveraging accurate, real-time data to support surgical capacity management. Yet, access to such data can unlock myriad benefits, ranging from enhanced operating room efficiency to better insight into OR availability, improved schedule coordination and smarter allocation of resources. Becker's Healthcare recently spoke with Jeff Robbins, CEO of LiveData, to learn how deploying real-time data-capture technology in the OR can streamline surgical workflows and elevate patient care and safety standards. OR data is powerful, but data capture is often manual — and it shouldn't fall on clinicians Historically, data capture in hospitals meant writing in paper charts. Today, however, software-based systems abound within healthcare organizations. Though these solutions were developed with the best of intentions, in reality it is often slower to enter patient data into these solutions than documenting the information with a notepad and pen. "The paradox of current practice in surgery is that we ask nurses to type more data into a computer before, during and after surgical cases to satisfy regulatory requirements, as well as for health and safety reasons," Mr. Robbins said. "But none of these people went into healthcare to be data-entry clerks." To address this challenge, LiveData has created technology solutions that radically simplify data capture, especially in the OR environment. LiveData OR-Dashboard TM with Active Time Out® displays key information on a large screen that is posted on the OR wall for all team members to easily see. During surgical procedures, circulator nurses use LiveData's four-button "clicker" device to navigate around fields on the OR- Dashboard and then click and capture timestamps for important case milestones, such as patient in and out, surgery start and stop, closing time and more. "Concurrent documentation is very difficult for clinicians when they're on their feet in the operating room," Mr. Robbins said. "There are a lot of moving parts. LiveData seeks to solve that challenge. Rather than going to a computer in the corner of the OR and logging in, the circulator nurse can work with the team at the operating table and participate in patient care-centric tasks. When needed, he or she can click and capture timestamps as needed." LiveData supports bi-directional, real-time integration with the EHR system. Data from the EHR is visible on the OR dashboard, and if errors are spotted, they can be fixed in LiveData and written back to the EHR. "Ancillary processes like concurrent documentation are very important for safe, effective surgery," Mr. Robbins said. "That's where real-time data integration makes a huge difference. We treat the EHR as the system of record and LiveData as the system of engagement for OR teams." Visibility into data + streamlined documentation processes promote patient safety As teams are prepping the OR, getting the salient facts about the patient and the case can be enormously helpful. For example, they might see on the LiveData OR-Dashboard that the patient has a latex allergy. Based on that information, the team can proactively remove any latex products from the room and avoid opening any packs containing items with latex. "Healthcare organizations are doing a better job of capturing important patient data in digital systems. It's not buried in a paper chart somewhere," Mr. Robbins said. "But how do you get that information into people's awareness? It can be a challenge — that's why we are fans of posting key data on a big screen on the wall of the OR." Incorporating timestamps into process checkpoints can also contribute to patient well-being. A recent change to surgical documentation includes a fire-risk assessment because certain prep agents are flammable and surgical tools may ignite those substances. "We want to make sure that the right steps are taken to allow those agents to evaporate long enough to reduce any fire risks," Mr. Robbins said. "Through technology and concurrent timestamps, we can double down on making it easier to implement these types of checkpoints and pauses. The goal is to avoid stress and distractions for staff in the OR." Precision in practice: Understanding the crucial role of real-time data capture in ORs

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