Hospital Logistics

TRANSPORT BETWEEN HOSPITALS

Many items, such as goods and medicine, are transported between hospitals on a daily basis. Overall transportation activities consist of a combination of regular and ad-hoc requirements. The variety of tasks means there is little opportunity for prior planning. The coordinator has a challenging task of coordinating transportion, ensuring that all tasks are carried out as efficiently as possible. This is a challenge due to a lack of overview of driver locations and vehicle capacities.  Another challenge is that goods are sometimes damaged or lost. The amount of knowledge about the location and transfer of goods makes it difficult to find out who is responsible for what.

TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT MAKES IT EASIER TO COORDINATE

The Transport Management module is an emerging capability within Columna Flow.  Transport management challenges can be met and the coordinator has an overview, which means tasks can be streamlined. Transport Management provides a real-time overview of where the drivers are, how much capacity there is available, etc. This means it is much easier to allocate tasks more efficiently.
The drivers receive tasks on their smartphones and will avoid being interrupted by phone calls while they are driving. Both the coordinator and the person who has ordered the task can see the driver’s progress and when the task is expected to be completed.
Transport Management also tracks goods, so there is never any doubt as to where individual items are.

BENEFITS

For Clinical Personnel

• Reliable delivery and transport

For Driver

• Improved overview of daily tasks
• Fewer wasted trips
• Reliable transfer of goods
• Simple communication

For Coordinator

• Improved overview and planning options
• Better utilization of capacity

For Warehouse Operator

• Efficient utilization of transport resources
• Improved overview of goods in and goods out

For Management

• Reduced margin of error, thus reducing unnecessary costs
• Reduced transport costs
• Higher quality processes

UNPREDICTABILITY IS A CHALLENGE

The number of beds being used at any time in a hospital varies and is unpredictable. Strict cleaning standards must also be met. This requires the procedure for washing beds, ordering clean beds, and storing beds be streamlined.

Extra beds are left in corridors in many hospitals to ensure there are always enough clean beds available, which makes it difficult for service personnel to locate the unclean beds that have to be transported to the cleaning station and to take clean beds from storage up to the wards. Today, much of bed tracking is done manually, which means the entire process is inefficient, creates dependencies and is prone to errors.

COMPLETE OVERVIEW OF ALL BEDS

Using the Bed Management module, clinical personnel can quickly and easily order beds and cleaning via their mobile phones or the existing clinical systems. This ensures that personnel at the bed stations have an overview of demand for made beds and clean beds at the hospital as well as the status of unclean and unmade beds.

BENEFITS

For Service Personnel

• Improved overview of tasks via smartphone
• Easier to meet cleaning standards
• Increased employee satisfaction
• Fewer wasted trips
• Shorter bed delivery times
• Helps to reduce the number of physical beds needed in a hospital, which means fewer beds in corridors

For Washing Station

• Improved overview of daily tasks
• More efficient working day
• Simple communication

For Clinical Personnel

• Save time because ordering is no longer done by filling out forms
• Ensures beds are clean and ready when needed
• Easier to remember to order bed cleaning

For Management

• The system can be integrated with operating booking information, which makes planning easier
• Analysis of consumption and peak load periods makes resource management easier
• Increased productivity and savings
• Helps to minimize the number of beds that are transported
• Just-in-time delivery of beds helps to reduce the total number of working hours
• Fewer beds having to be kept in storage means reduced costs purchasing and maintenance costs

For Patient

• Certainty that bed meets current cleaning standards
• Less waiting time because of just-in-time delivery of beds

HOSPITAL CARTS PLAY A KEY ROLE

A large part of hospital service personnel’s daily work routine is spent on moving carts that carry linen, food, medicine, or equipment. Some carts have fixed routes at fixed times, while others are moved when required.

Depending on what a cart may have been previously used for, service personnel sometimes have to wait for long periods of time for an available cart.  For example, there may be a wait for food carts delivered from the kitchen. In addition, sometimes carts are hard to find and time is wasted looking for free carts.

This results in inefficiencies for service personnel and clinical personnel who do not have confidence that the carts that are ordered will be available when they are required.

TRACKING OF CARTS CREATES EFFICIENCY

The Cart Management module provides an overview of where carts are located across a hospital. When carts are placed at established check points, the location triggers an automatic service request of hospital service personnel via Task Management.  This reduces delays in transfer and transition of carts and cart flow.  The Cart Management module is web based and can be accessed and used from a PC, large displays and smartphones.

The overview of carts allows personnel to get a visual picture of where all carts are in a hospital at any given time. Filters can be used to make the module show, for example, only the carts that are on their way back to storage or the carts that are on their way to the wards.

The cart module can be extended, with the option of viewing or searching based on the cart contents. This means that service personnel saves additional time because they can search for a cart with specific contents.

BENEFITS

For Service Personnel

• Clear overview of cart related tasks and colleague work status
• More evenly distributed work load
• Fewer steps per task and less time per task
• Greater influence on daily procedures

For Coordinator

• Clear overview of work orders and resources enables better planning
• Smoother and more flexible task division

For Clinical Personnel

• Better means of communication across different professions
• Clear status on work orders
• Simpler ordering of tasks
• Better information for patients

For Management

• Better information flow and greater overview simplifies prioritization
• Efficient data collection aiding administration and performance measurements
• Increased productivity leading to financial savings

For Patient

• Less transport waiting time
• Better informed patients have a better understanding of delays
• Better service experience

LABORATORY SAMPLE COORDINATION IS A VITAL COMPONENT 

The coordination of laboratory samples is a frequent activity that requires coordination hospitals.  It’s important to ensure accurate, reliable and timely request and delivery of laboratory samples.

Errors and delays are detrimental to procedures, and can create bottlenecks or poor patient care.  Ensuring visibility and accuracy in both recurring and ad-hoc laboratory sample ordering task ensures quality and timely patient care.

TRACKING OF SAMPLE COORDINATION STREAMLINES PROCESSES

The Sampling module provides an overview of laboratory services requested within a hospital and enables clinical personnel to quickly and easily order laboratory services. This module ensures ad-hoc and recurring laboratory sampling requests are tracked and organized and visible in a single consolidated dashboard.

BENEFITS

For Service Personnel

• Clear overview of laboratory related tasks
• Greater influence on daily procedures

For Coordinator

• Clear overview enables better planning

For Clinical Personnel

• Saves times by facilitating recurring order requests

For Management

• Greater visibility and tracking of laboratory orders and requests

For Patient

• Less waiting time for sampling and results
• Better service experience

COORDINATION OF ANESTHESIA SERVICES CREATES EFFICIENCIES

The coordination of additional services required alongside anesthesia is streamlined and made more efficient as tasks are coordinated and centralized.

TRACKING OF ANESTHESIA TASKS

The Anesthesia module provides an overview of services as it relates to primary and secondary task when administering anesthesia.  This ensures greater accuracy and patient safety.

BENEFITS

For Service Personnel

• Clear overview catheter related tasks
• Greater influence on daily procedures

For Coordinator

• Clear overview enables better planning

For Clinical Personnel

• Reduction of errors through clear task visibility and tracking

For Management

• Improved visibility metrics

For Patient

• Less waiting time
• Better service experience