Lesson 4: Focus on Personal Benefits
While technology is one of the greatest advantages of society today, one of the greatest challenges many healthcare organizations face is convincing staff to take advantage of the technology available, even if it means using their personal mobile devices for work-related purposes.
For Aultman, the flipcharts app had to be offered to staff at no cost and it was imperative that staff understood that the app could operate online or offline. The only time an Internet connection was needed was during the initial app download, and staff could do this using a Wi-Fi Internet connection at work, requiring no personal data plan usage.
Focus on the personal benefits and advantages versus potential cost. Even if our organizations have policies prohibiting the use of personal phones while on company time, we have all seen our staff on their phones during their shifts or breaks. Use department meetings to provide assistance and encourage use on company time when a crisis is not present.
Don’t Be Afraid of Technology
So would Aultman have done anything differently if we could implement the technology all over again? Probably not, except for implementing the flipcharts sooner.
Don’t be scared to implement technology. Staff members have been playing Angry Birds on their smart phones for years now. Use the benefits of the digital age to your advantage, and remember that hindsight is always 20/20. The only thing we can do is continue to be forward-thinking and build on our successes. We must continue to engage front line staff and develop tools to expand our systems.
5 Joint Commission Standards that Electronic Flipcharts Address
1. EM.02.01.01 EP 2 – The hospital develops and maintains a written emergency operations plan that describes the response procedures to follow when emergencies occur.
2. EM.02.02.01 EP 2- The emergency operations plan describes how the hospital will communicate information and instructions to its staff and licensed independent practitioners during an emergency.
3. EM.02.02.01 EP 14 – The hospital establishes backup systems and technologies for the communication activities identified in EM.02.02.01, EPs1-13.
4. EM.02.02.07 EP 2 – The emergency operations plan describes the roles and responsibilities of staff for communications, resources and assets, safety and security, utilities and patient management during an emergency.
5. EM.02.02.07 EP 7 – The hospital trains staff for their assigned emergency response roles.
Chris Feller is the executive director of safety and facilities at the Aultman Health Foundation.
