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Susan Tyner Pritchett, RNInformation System Specialist
Medical College of Georgia Health, Inc.1120 15th St. Augusta, GA 30912
www.mcg.edu706-840-0612
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Key Skills for Building Key Skills for Building and Maintaining a Successful and Maintaining a Successful
Operating Room Operating Room Information Specialist TeamInformation Specialist Team
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478 Bed Adult Hospital
154 Bed Children’s Hospital
90+ Outpatient Clinics
Level I Trauma Center.
8000 Physicians/Staff and Students
Radiology Dept is rated among the top 3 in the nation
US News and World Report Year votes our Physicians among "Americas Top Doctors" (the top 1 percent)
30 Operating Rooms, 35 Anesthesia workstations in various recovery rooms and lab locations.
Medical College of Georgia Health Inc
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Why We Created a Specialized Operating Room IS Team for Anesthesia
• Failures happen. Our Goal: Eliminate common failures• The equipment costs were substantial• Stress levels run high• Computer technology staff was not clinically oriented• E Charting had become vital enough to warrant personalized
attention• Place key IT resources at point of service to respond rapidly to
needs
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Determine Team Coverage Needs
Coverage8 hours ?12 hours ?
24-7 ?
Who will work
NightsWho will work
WeekendsWho will be on
Call
Any team member should be flexible enough to fill any shift
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Determine Team Structure
Supervision
Team Leader
Team Members and Ample Assistance
Any team member should be flexible enough to fill any role
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To Build and Maintain An OR Team
• Identify and Recruit Candidates• Teach Individuals• Test, Precept, and Check Off Team Members• Establish a Chain of Communication• Identify Links of Support for the Team• Plan Scheduled Meetings
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The Operating Room
Is A Very Special Environment
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Identify and Recruit Individuals
Who are•Enthusiastic & Willing
•Confident &Comfortable
Working inThe Operating Room
Environment
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Individuals That Could Be Considered• A Clinician with Technological Capabilities• A Computer Technician with Clinical Capabilities
In eithercase the
team candidate will have much to
learn
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Teach OR Team Candidates
Either candidate type will need to be educated as though they will be
a part of the OR staff
•Clinicians will need instruction for the computer technology
•Non-medical computer technicians will need to be oriented to the clinical surroundings
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Test Candidate Capabilities
For the Non-MedicalComputer Tech Candidate
Oral ExamMedical Terminology
Acronyms
Base Candidacy on Medical
Competence
Written ExamHospital Policies And Procedures
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Test Candidate Capabilities
For the ClinicalCandidate
Oral ExamTechnical Terminology
& PC Architecture
Base Candidacy
on TechnicalCompetence
Written ExamHospital Information Systems
Infrastructure & CIS
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Precept Team Member Candidates
•Orient to OR environment just as any new employee•Observe surgical procedures•Identify and provide written resources for OR policies•Introduce concepts of scrub use, dynamics of surgical traffic
flow, cores and airflow•Identify conditions to enter rooms during procedures
Even Clinicians May have never been employed in the OR
May not be aware of the volatile, chaotic and graphic environment May not be educated about the OR policies and procedures
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Check Off
• Construct and implement check offs for candidates from any background for a concrete foundation of competency
• Include both IT and Clinical check off points• Keep check offs current as they apply to dynamics
of team responsibilities
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Communication Skills
Reporting:– Daily or team shift reports
Documenting: – All communication concerning team activities– Vendor support communication: Consider your monetary
investment
Identifying: – Alternative contact resources such as ANIA or other
institutions utilizing similar applications
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Pathway to Collaboration
•Outline a Chain of Command for:
•Operating Room Authority•IS Supervisory Staff•Networking Services•Biomedical Assistance•Information Security Officiate
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Don’t Forget to Document!
Culminate and document contacts for resources– Vendors– Hardware– Software– Materials– Supplies– Technical Support
Build a Textbook for future
reference and staffing
needs
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Email GroupsSupervisory, BioMed
OR Staff
Alternate SupportInformatics GroupsSimilar Institutions
ScheduledMeetings
Network & InformationSecurity Support
Vendor Support
Shift Reports
CollaborateCommunicate
Document
Communication, Collaboration & Documentation are Key
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One Further Consideration
Who will Help?Absences Upgrades
DowntimeIt is not going to be easy to fill gaps for this very
special environment.
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MCGHI IS Specialized TeamSuccesses!
• Near elimination of hardware damage
• A drastic reduction in emergent calls and hardware failures
• Now considering this type of specialized team in other areas
• The only turn over of specialized staff in the first 2 years was related to promotion