Advanced hospital IT system saves 16000 lives
By Elizabeth Smythe
18/10/2011
An advanced IT system has helped save thousands of hospital patients' lives, publictechnology.net reports.
University Hospitals Birmingham developed its own 'Clinical Dashboard' to better curb staff errors and an evaluation of the system has produced some staggering results.
Not only have medication errors - predominantly the failure to administer doses - been reduced by half, but the trust has experienced a 17 per cent drop in death rates. This means some 16,000 lives have been saved in just one year.
The system reminds staff when medicine is due and a comprehensive patient database alerts staff to any issues or changes when they type in information; such as fluctuations in blood pressure or heart rate. What's more, though initially implemented to spot and prevent human errors, a real-time feedback loop feeds issues into a regular review process - enabling individuals to learn from their mistakes.
It has has proved so successful that the trust is recommending similar automated IT software is adopted across the rest of the NHS.
The recommendation has been warmly welcomed by those in the medical profession. Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, enthused about the system on BBC News: "The system has the potential to really make a big difference to patient safety across the board.
"By highlighting on-going problems and trends in patient care, ward and trust leaders can put changes in place to prevent other patients from suffering in the same way, learning from their mistakes rather than trying to bury them under bureaucracy."
