Authors (including presenting author) :
Chu YM(1), Lee CC(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Sterile Services Department, NTWC
Introduction :
The layout of Sterile Services Department (SSD) is separated into 4 main areas: Decontamination area, packing area, sterilization area and sterile store. Only the decontamination area is a dirty area which is physically separated and restricted to authorized personnel that wear proper protective attire for infection control. In past, whenever a fast track OT instrument was identified, we have to inform all frontline staff in different working areas by person such that relevant tracking set could be processed ahead of other items. Considering that delivery of verbal messages or memos in such a way was inefficient, time-consuming, and can lead to mistakes being made, a tailor-made communication system was developed to display messages on dashboard placed in decontamination areas and packing areas of NTWC SSD.
Objectives :
1. To spread messages efficiently and effectively throughout the department; 2. To capture and analyze the number of ad hoc instrument requests from OT for continuous service enhancement.
Methodology :
To utilize the existing resources provided in the hospital setting, visual basic for application (VBA) of Microsoft Access was used to develop the communication system. The system was able to summarize the messages input by management staff and display relevant information on the television hanged in packing area and decontamination area. In the meantime, number of ad hoc requests from OT was captured for analysis. The summarized data were indicated in our departmental KPI for monitoring the trend of ad hoc request from OT of each floor. The captured data can be analyst or reviewed once the number of captured data reaches a reasonable sample size.
Result & Outcome :
With the communication system developed, specific OT tracking sets which required priority processing could be identified quickly and accurately. The rate of missing message or erroneous message is greatly minimized. The system is constantly evolving to facilitate operation. Nowadays, frontline staff could retrieve reference photos from the message box to help identify the fast track instruments required. Besides, general file object such as PDF, excel, and word can be retrieved through the system as well. The implementation of the communication system can remove the barriers to communicate with frontline staffs in decontamination area and reduce the chance of contaminated items carrying out from the decontamination area. In addition, it can reduce the lead time to deliver service in a timely manner. It is a powerful tool to retrieve the data record for further analysis for service improvement or development.
