Efficient surgical center workflow procedures

Abstract

Methods for efficiently processing surgical center workflow procedures. The methods include using optical character recognition for easing an admission process, entering patient information into operating room devices, using a wearable code to obtain a patient record, obtaining a patient record including a safe surgical checklist for review during a surgical procedure, providing a visual indication of information flow out of a medical care area and easily recording information on a whiteboard in the medical care area.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62 / 337,602, filed May 17, 2016.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to patient processing in a medical or surgical center, and in particular to efficient surgical center workflow procedures.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Presently, the process for patient check-in, processing, scheduling for and performing a surgical process can be very time consuming and there are many times when errors in obtaining and recording patient information can be committed.[0004]Typically, during patient check-in for a surgical procedure, the patient writes personal information on a paper chart. An admission professional at the surgical location receives the paper chart with the personal information filled in and obtains the patient's record. At large surgical centers and hospitals, the patient's record is maintained on a computer database and once the patient is checked-in u...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides methods for efficiently processing surgical center workflow procedures. These methods include using optical character recognition to ease the admission process, entering patient information into operating room devices, using a wearable code for easy patient records access, providing a visual indication of information flow out of a medical care area, and easily recording information on a whiteboard in the medical care area. These methods help streamline the surgical procedures and make them more efficient.

Problems solved by technology

Presently, the process for patient check-in, processing, scheduling for and performing a surgical process can be very time consuming and there are many times when errors in obtaining and recording patient information can be committed.

However, in small surgical centers that are not attached to large hospitals, but instead work with small clinics, there typically is no information system tie between the small clinics and the small surgical centers.

Such a system of admitting a patient is prone to user error and mistakes.

While the wristband may include a unique identifier that identifies the patient (e.g., a barcode), systems in the operating room that are not connected to the hospital workflow systems, RIS / HIS information systems or patient management systems are not able to obtain patient information from the unique identifier on the patient wristband.

The patient information can sometimes be pulled from a PACS using DICOM Modality Worklist functionality (which is designed for radiology systems) from information read from the wristband, but such a method typically can only be used when the patient has had a prior radiology exam and can be prone to errors (e.g., when the identification for the patient in the DICOM Modality Worklist is different than the identification on the wristband).

It is contemplated that the systems could be tied in to the hospitals EMR / PMS systems to retrieve patient information, but such set up is rarely implemented because of a lack of systems in an operating room that interact with scheduling workflow systems.

Images