"The Imprivata solution is saving time by reducing login complexity for mobile devices and allowing fast interaction with the EPR, while providing additional security for the devices.” – Lucy Weeks, CNIO, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
The Imprivata access management platform has been instrumental in developing new workflows on mobile devices to support care pathways.
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (SASH) provides emergency and non-emergency services to the residents of east Surrey, north-east West Sussex, and South Croydon, including the major towns of Crawley, Horsham, Reigate, and Redhill. East Surrey Hospital is a large acute hospital for east Surrey and north-east West Sussex, providing an Emergency Department and acute services for the whole catchment area of the SASH NHS Trust, including Gatwick Airport – a total of more than half a million people.
The challenge: inconsistent mobile workflows resulted in compliance issues
SASH had a gap in capabilities around being able to record and report upon pressure damage and other skin wounds, resulting in the introduction of a new care pathway for Skin and Pressure Prevention. However, with no set workflow for imaging to record progress, reporting was inconsistent.
The Trust sought to establish a standard workflow for imaging based on mobile devices and looked to utilise a batch of Zebra TC52 devices which weren’t currently in use. The devices needed thoughtful configuration so that nurses and clinical staff could use their individual credentials to log in. This would preserve security and patient privacy without being overly complex or repetitive to ensure user acceptance.
The solution: Imprivata and Zebra TC52 devices streamline wound and pressure damage image capture, feeding directly into the EPR
As part of the Skin and Pressure Prevention pathway, the Trust wanted to utilise the Zebra devices to enable clinicians and nurses to capture images and save them to the patient record in Cerner PowerChart as seamlessly as possible. However, complex device logins, which were required for security, were proving a significant barrier to adoption.
A long-time user of Imprivata Enterprise Access Management (formerly Imprivata OneSign), the Trust worked closely with Imprivata to explore ways to extend the platform to support their mobile workflows in a way similar to how they approached traditional workstations and desktops. This simplified login, while maintaining security on the devices, would help in protecting extremely sensitive patient data. When the Trust saw that it could enable the same consistent, user-friendly access workflows on mobile devices as clinicians were already using to access desktops, the answer was clear. The Trust deployed Imprivata Mobile Device Access to achieve faster logins, requiring just a badge tap and a PIN.
After device login, the user can take the images required and associate with the correct patient record within the EPR, making the images instantly available to other members of the team as needed. The entire process takes minimal taps and can be completed within a couple of minutes.
With the new fast user access, staff can share the devices more easily, significantly reducing the number of devices required per ward or department. This fast user switching means that fewer devices are sufficient for a busy ward or department.
The results: fast, consistent access enables easy imaging, as well as saves time and addresses compliance issues
The IT and Training team at SASH has now deployed 50 Zebra devices across the Trust. Anyone with an Imprivata Mobile Device Access user account (approximately 3,500 staff) is provisioned to use the devices. The initial deployment was based on which departments had the strongest need. User adoption was enthusiastic, and excitement about the solution quickly spread throughout the Trust – so much so that the solution is now used in such diverse areas such as stoma nurses, endoscopy, out-patients, and dentistry.
Lucy Weeks, Chief Nursing Informatics Officer (CNIO) at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, commented, “The Imprivata/Zebra solution has transformed the way we record images for wound care. Staff are coming forward to say good things about the new system and word has even reached the Chair of the Trust who was talking to staff about the new Skin and Pressure Prevention Care pathway. It’s a major step forward in how we work and has improved compliance. We couldn’t have rolled this technology out without Imprivata.”
Nooreen Chukoury, Senior Digital Trainer at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, said, “We’ve had great feedback from the end users; the training only took about 10 minutes. Since we started the rollout, it has snowballed as word has got round just how quick and easy the solution is.”
Previously, in the ICU department, images were captured and stored separately with the patient records being updated weekly. Artur Falek, Practice Development Nurse, ICU at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, explained, “Before the Imprivata/Zebra system, it could take up to a week for a patient record to be updated with images of wounds or pressure sores. Now, photos are available to view instantly. It is a significant improvement.”
In the stroke wards, there was some trepidation about the new workflow, but as Nisha Sharma, Ward Manager, SASH Stroke Unit, explains, “Although hesitant about change at first, the feedback from the nurses on the ward using the Imprivata/Zebra solution has been good. Now they love it.”
Next steps
As the rollout of the Zebra devices with Imprivata Mobile Device Access continues across more departments, the IT team, in conjunction with CNIO Lucy Weeks, are looking at what other clinical apps could be introduced to the devices