Date of Award
Spring 5-27-2023
Document Type
Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscript
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Brenda Boone, PhD, RN
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this evidence-based practice Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to evaluate a new technology designed to improve the nurse call experience. The goal of the technology pilot was to improve communication and care coordination, enhance patient satisfaction, and improve overall response time.
Background: Today, modern integrated nurse call systems are found in all acute care hospitals in the United States, as mandated by the Joint Commission. These systems continue to become more digital, while the core function stays the same—notifying the care team that the patient needs their assistance. A meta synthesis of the literature reviewed demonstrates that integrated nurse call systems have shown to reduced overall response time to patient requests. Nurse and patient perception of this type of technology is overall positive demonstrating improved communication. A very recent study, concluded integrated nurse call systems are required to help nurses make more informed decisions, improve work efficiency, and care quality.
Methods: A northern California academic health system evaluated a new technology named Patient Hub through a 90-day pilot. The pilot was conducted on a 22-bed adult postsurgical unit focused on colorectal, urology, and oncology between June 2022 to September 2022. The response time was to be measured and compared to similar patients using traditional nurse call.
Results: The new Patient Hub technology was not fully integrated. It was determined there is not a reliable or standard way to measure response time. During the pilot period, there were 150 events captured by the Patient Hub systems with 105 requests considered active or not cancelled requests. The feedback from patients throughout the pilot period on the technology was overall positive while adoption was low. Of the 35 patients observed 11, or 32%, were too lethargic or not oriented enough to utilize the technology and three, or 9%, were not interested in learning about the technology. Seven of the devices were not working properly. Twenty-two of the devices, or 65%, were not set up. For future pilots, the recommendation would be to pilot on a unit where the patients are more alert and oriented. There were some patients that thought it was easier to use the pillow speaker to place a nurse call compared to the new Patient Hub technology. Many patients explained the value of communicating directly with their nurse through the technology.
Evaluation: This pilot provided some insight further reinforcing that technology plays a large role in the overall patient experience. It also highlighted the need for integration into existing systems for data analysis and outcome collection, as well as the requirement to reduce bedside nurse responsibility for onboarding and education of technology to the patient.
Keywords: Nurse call, Patient experience, Patient call response time
Digital USD Citation
Norton, Ariel, "Improving nurse call by evaluating a new technology" (2023). Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts. 256.
https://digital.sandiego.edu/dnp/256
Copyright
Copyright held by the author