Tablets provide nurses at Karolinska more time to patients

the hospital began as several other healthcare facilities in Sweden to be built at the end of the 1960s, during a period of strong confidence in the future. At the time, dreamed of many decision makers is a world in which technical innovation would give people more time to each other.

Fifty years later it is quiet eftermiddagsstämning in the emergency department on the ground floor of the brutalistiska complex. The pace is otherwise high on Stockholm's hard-pressed emergency departments. Often is the utilization of over 100 per cent both here and elsewhere in the city.

Next to the emergency room are the beds on the line in anticipation of the new patients. Photo: Lisa Mattisson

employees at the reception now get more time for patients. Then a couple of weeks for ten of the nurses in the emergency department in patient information, on tablets. Like the restless youths buttons on the touchpads that they are in with a knob on the back between the long and ring fingers.

In average, adds a akutsköterska half an hour a day to log in and out on different computers.

" It sits in the middle of the bone to log on to the computer. But my spontaneous reaction is that this is going to be great, " Karin Sämskar Brandt, a nurse in the emergency department.

In most of the hospitals in Sweden are journalarbete today on desktop computers. Nurses and doctors write down notes on the patient on the hand or a writing pad, and then go to an internet computer station and enter the information. Just to get into the system is often time-consuming. To log on to the computer of each employee to insert his card and enter their data, which usually takes several minutes. In the average adds a akutsköterska half an hour a day to log in and out on different computers.

– the Time we spend on logging in and out from computers is a big problem. It takes several minutes to get into a computer as I haven't used in a week, " says Karin Sämskar Brandt.

the nurses also see other things as planned activities and which drugs the patient should have.

– the Goal is that the doctors are also able to see the radiological referrals on the plates. But it is above all for us nurses and nursing assistants as a tablet will make a difference. The doctors are working a bit in a different way, " says Karin Sämskar Brandt.

the Tablet enhances the efficiency of the nurse Karin Sämskar Brandt's work. Photo: Lisa Mattisson

2011, the Karolinska place of innovation, a title that with a helicopter perspective to see how the work on the company's health activities can be streamlined and improved with new solutions.

" the Technology goes very fast forward, and therefore, it is important that we are sitting in the driver's seat and a driver. In the future, the whole care structure change, we will soon work on a totally new way, with new demands from patients and relatives. Patients may not be entered in the same extent as in the past, " says Therese Roy, who works at the place of innovation.

early creations was Barncancerappen, a mobile app that children and families affected by the disease can use.

– With the can the family via the cell phone get care information about the disease. A informationsapp may not be something jättenytt, but the cooperation between the developers, the nursing staff and the patients, and the way it has been implemented and spread is innovative, " says Therese Sjöberg, who previously worked as a specialist nurse.

She believes that the place of innovation gives Karolinska important new perspectives and ways to attack the problem.

" I started working with this because I felt that the nursing staff did not have the right tools to influence and change the course of their work in the right direction. For example, perhaps the patients did not get enough or the right information, or the burst communication between one ward and another. With new technology we can help the nursing staff better understand and solve the problems they face, " she says.

Sara Schulz, Jenny Delin and Karin Sämskar Brandt in akutgaraget at the hospital. Photo: Lisa Mattisson

the hospital, there is not much activity. An ambulance is parked and a sjuktransportbil fickparkerar in betongrummet. Next to the garage is located two fully equipped operating theatres. It is here that those with life-threatening injuries and ailments are cared for.

On the couch in the room illustrates the nurses we see how they are working with another innovation that has been introduced. Older, co-morbidity in patients at high risk of pressure sores when they stay in hospital. 13% of all patients admitted to hospital in Sweden to receive it.

When the place of innovation analyzed the problem of pressure ulcers, they discovered that they can easily see who is at risk to get them. Therefore, the reception has started to work proactively with high-risk patients and put trycksårsförband on them right when they come out from the ambulance.

the Nurses Karin Sämskar Brandt and Jenny Delin adds preventive trycksårsförband. Photo: Lisa Mattisson

the lumbar spine and on the heels of the patients. Hälförbandet looks like a great skavsårsplåster.

" the Ambulance identifies riskpatienterna already on the way. Then we have prepared the receipt. Otherwise, it will be that they are several hours on the bunks. Some patients may get pressure ulcers after half an hour, " says Jenny Delin, nurse innovationsroll in the emergency department.

Now we can see things differently, we can analyze the needs and to check on what needs to be changed.

the Project has not been evaluated statistically, but the staff is positive and the other hospitals cast a glance at the model.

has also had positive synergies, " says Jenny Delin. Nowadays, working akutpersonalen more preventive measures. They've got a new perspective on the business.

– After trycksårsprojektet, we also started analyzing the things like nutrition, sleep and the patients ' routines. We started to talk more about nursing in the emergency room, " she says.

– Often, the patients just to be in and out as fast as possible in the emergency room. But not rarely, they may stay for a while at the reception. And we have worked a long time here always have a bad conscience for the poor elderly. Now we have become better at their care, fills Karin Sämskar Brandt in.

and Jenny Delin working since 2016, respectively 2017 with the business development and innovation part-time. Both think it's been positive for the entire emergency department.

– Is the man on the floor, you have not the time and effort to see how we work. Now we can see things differently, we can analyze the needs and to check on what needs to be changed. We also get good support from the place of innovation, " says Karin Sämskar Brandt.

Tempo is often high on the Stockholm's hard-pressed emergency departments. Photo: Lisa Mattisson

Therese Sjöberg from the place of innovation going back and forth between the hospital in Huddinge and in Solna. She sees the lack of space as the biggest challenge for health care both now and in the future. Innovation can be an effective way to tackle the problem, she believes.

One way to do that is to reduce the need for long-term patients to go to the hospital, for example at the Karolinska by videokonsultation with Parkinsonspatienters doctor at home or a form of innovative day care for people with congestive heart failure.

also you will be able to use artificial intelligence and blockkedjeteknik to distribute the health workforce more effectively.

– Over the law, we must work more to embrace new technology, may already be at a level of education through new types of courses. Another challenge is that we should be leading in the technical development and drive it themselves. We will also need to develop health care for young adults, a population group which the care is built.

On Huddingeakuten, they have not yet some ai robots that help patients. But they have plans to maybe put a larger touchpad in the waiting room where they can bring their values.

"It had also been able to save a lot of time," says Jenny Delin.

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