Mobile image management solution helps Norman Regional Health System reduce hospital costs and expand patient care
The Challenge
Oklahoma’s Norman Regional Health System (NRHS) is on a mission to increase the identification of pressure ulcers at the point of admission. Beyond ensuring proper patient care, tracking each injury throughout a patient’s hospital stay would also control hospitals costs by reducing the number of sores defined as hospital-acquired. This can provide huge value to a health system given that Medicare estimates each pressure ulcer adds more than $43,000 in costs to a hospital stay.
Historically, NRHS nurses conducted a subjective assessment at the patient’s bedside to identify the progression of pressure wounds. One nurse might observe the wound, consider it improved, but a second nurse might look at the same wound and decide there had been no change. NRHS had no objective way to compare pressure wound progression.
To improve this situation, they needed a solution to better identify and track pressure injuries from the moment of admission.
The Solution
After evaluating Hyland’s PACS Scan Mobile solution, NRHS determined it was an ideal solution to enhance its pressure ulcer tracking process. Now the NRHS team captures wounds on admission and believes the solution has been crucial to improving early detection, tracking and care of the wounds.
The Difference
NRHS believes the implementation of PACS Scan Mobile has been crucial to improving early detection, tracking and care of the wounds.
“If we can identify just two pressure ulcers at admission that would have been missed in the past, we will save the hospital more than enough to pay for the PACS Scan Mobile solution,” says Paul Jones, Clinical Director at Norman Regional Health System. “Just two.”
Today, NRHS is looking to expand use of PACS Scan Mobile throughout the enterprise. The initial implementation was limited to certain units, but the results indicate that PACS Scan Mobile makes a difference for the health system.
How did PACS Scan Mobile help NRHS? Download the NRHS success story to learn more.