“Self-measurement fits well within our vision,” says Irene Wischhoff. She was initially involved in the innovation project as an information advisor and later became project leader, supervising the project together with IT architect Remco van Wijhe. “We want to give patients more control, while also easing the workload on our staff. When patients measure their own vital signs, it saves a lot of time for healthcare professionals in the outpatient clinics.”
Different measurement protocols
Alviscan is fully preconfigured to meet the requirements of the project group. A connection with the Electronic Health Record (EHR) HiX has been implemented, allowing measurement data to be stored directly in the patient record. In addition, Alviscan automatically selects the correct measurement per patient based on the type of outpatient appointment.
“The pulmonary function department requires a saturation reading, while that is hardly relevant for the diabetes clinic. We therefore use two separate measurement protocols and can easily expand to a third if needed. Having that flexibility is very welcome.”
Irene Wischhoff, Information Advisor, Deventer Hospital (NL)
Without a pilot
Deventer Hospital chose to implement Alviscan directly, without a prior pilot. “We consider ourselves fast followers,” explains Wischhoff. “Alviscan has already proven its value in other hospitals, so from our perspective, a pilot was not necessary.” Staff were, however, given a week to try out Alviscan as a stand-alone system. Van Wijhe adds: “This allowed everyone to experience self-measurement for themselves and understand what the patient goes through.”
Usage and numbers
The project group closely monitors the introduction of Alviscan during the initial phase across all areas, including reviewing system data. Wischhoff explains: “For example, we want insight into how often a doctor repeats a measurement, or how many patients skip the self-measurement point. There can be various reasons for this. By understanding them, we can respond appropriately and help reduce any feelings of anxiety or hesitation. Our goal is to encourage both patients and healthcare professionals to make full use of this innovation.”
Trust
Looking back, Wischhoff and Van Wijhe are very satisfied. “I think we approached it well,” says Wischhoff. “Internally, we involved as many stakeholders as possible in the process, not only healthcare providers, but also the Patient Council, facility services, the infection prevention team, the marketing and communications department, and volunteers. We wanted to be very careful in that regard.”
The collaboration with Alphatron was also very positive, Van Wijhe explains. “Compliments to Alphatron; you can tell they really built on their experience from the first hospitals. There was a tight project schedule, regular meetings, excellent documentation, and short communication lines. They also actively thought along with us when we ran into problems. Communication was very smooth, which really helped build trust.”
“Self-measurement fits well within our vision. We want to give patients more control, while also easing the workload for our staff. When patients measure their own vital signs, it saves a lot of time for healthcare professionals in the outpatient clinics.”
Irene Wischhoff, Information Advisor, Deventer Hospital (NL)