“The self-measurement kiosk is one of the solutions we began exploring,” says Marjolein Blaauw, Project Manager for Data & Digitalization. “We contacted several suppliers and visited other hospitals that already had a self-measurement kiosk in place. Following this, we tested two kiosks from different suppliers at our own site.
Testing in rotation
Elmar Boelkens, staff advisor for Innovation, was involved during the pilot fase. For a month, the self-measurement kiosks were tested alternately at the preoperative screening outpatient clinic and in the surgery department for same-day admission patients. After a thorough evaluation, UMCG ultimately chose Alviscan. “The service level provided by Alphatron was what really made the difference for us,” says Boelkens. “The communication, their willingness to think along with us, the support, and their ‘just get it done’ mentality, made the collaboration very pleasant.
“During the pilot phase, we surveyed many people. About 70% were enthusiastic about self-measurement. All in all, quite progressive for this region.”
Elmar Boelkens, staff advisor for Innovation, UMCG (NL)
Alviscan as part of the solution
Innovation will remain a top priority at UMCG, regardless. Boelkens explains: “At our University Medical Center, innovation is a common thread. We continuously look at how things can be done more efficiently or better, and how we can support our healthcare professionals as much as possible. The workload in healthcare is high, and we are facing staff shortages due to an aging population. In Groningen, this may be even more pronounced than in the rest of the country.”
Saving 3 to 5 minutes per patient
There are now three Alviscan units in the hospital; the internal medicine department also has its own self-measurement kiosk. Blaauw explains: “That department wasn’t part of the pilot project, but they quickly saw the benefits. The device takes over tasks that were mainly performed by physicians, so they were very interested.”
With Alviscan, patients measure their own vital signs, and all data is automatically recorded in EPIC, the electronic patient record system. This saves healthcare staff approximately 3 to 5 minutes per patient. In the preoperative screening department, this could translate into a reduction of up to 1.5 FTE. However, this time saving is not a goal by itself. Boelkens explains: “By allowing Alviscan to take over routine measurements, medical assistants have more time to truly focus on the patient. That personal attention remains extremely important to us. We are therefore exploring how Alviscan can be implemented across more departments, enabling both healthcare professionals and patients to benefit as much as possible.”
“The benefits of Alviscan are hard to express in exact monetary terms,” Boelkens adds. “It’s more about softer gains, such as increased efficiency, more time for patients, greater job satisfaction for staff, and consequently reduced absenteeism.”
“The self-measurement kiosk takes over tasks in internal medicine that were mainly performed by physicians.”
Marjolein Blaauw, Project Manager Data & Digitalization, UMCG (NL)