How Information Flows in the OR

Amelior ORTracker facilitates the communication between the units within the department. Each unit has its own electronic greaseboard that is instantly updated with changes that occur during the patient visit.

Registration

The surgery schedule for the day flows into Amelior ORTracker and is automatically updated as changes occur in the scheduling system.Registration has access to the up-to-the-minute schedule. As patients arrive, registrars check them in and assign them a tracking badge, which updates Amelior ORTracker to reflect their arrival.

Patients with a white background have not yet arrived. Patients with a red background have arrived, but have not yet been assigned a bed in pre-op. Patients in blue have arrived, been assigned a bed in pre-op, and are ready to be brought back to pre-op. The infrared and radio frequency system automatically tracks the patient and updates the location field with no input from staff.

Pre-Op

The pre-op spreadsheet displays patients receiving care in the unit as well as those waiting to enter the unit from registration. Once the patient arrives in pre-op, the passive tracking portion of Amelior ORTracker automatically updates the patient location and changes the background of the case to white.

OR

The OR spreadsheet displays the entire surgery schedule for the day by suite and time. It also provides details such as the type of surgery to be performed and the nurses involved. The system allows staff assignment on a case-by-case basis or to a suite enmass.

PACU

Once the PACU charge nurse gets the page, he or she can use the PACU map to pre-assign the incoming patient to an open bay. Available bays have a bed in them. The trash can indicates the bay needs to be cleaned. If there is color in a bay, the bed is occupied or assigned; the color of the bay indicates the anticipated level of care needed for the patient. The test indicates the type of anesthesia and the amount of time the patient has spent in PACU. The PACU can also see more detailed case information using a spreadsheet view of their patients, similar to the pre-op unit.

Post-Op

The post-op spreadsheet works like the pre-op spreadsheet. Patients are marked as ready for a bed by PACU and appear on the spreadsheet in red. Once the patient is assigned a room by the post-op charge nurse, the spreadsheet color turns to blue. As soon as the patient arrives in post-op, the passive tracking turns the color to white.