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Bridle Ridge 113 Appaloosa, 1999, 3/2, 1809 sq. ft., $147, 000. Relocating. Must sell. Call 361-212-0393.
Staff at Gulf Coast Medical Center in Wharton used a paper system until June 16, according to a hospital report.
The new software, known as the Insights Engine, reduces the time it takes to enter information about a patient or hospital service to three or four minutes, said Pat Feagin, a Gulf Coast risk manager.
The software compiles the data from individual users and sends e-mail alerts to managers, giving them the information they need to monitor the situation.
The program also analyzes the data and identifies trends.
Ranging reporter Brandon L. Leonard talked with five hospital officials, Feagin, Barbara Priesmeyer, Joy Janak, Edwina Miner and Carol Wootton about the program.
Q: Tell me about the Insights Engine.
A: The Insights Engine is actually a proprietary software program that we have here at the hospital provided by Signature Hospital Corporation, which is our hospital corporation.
And what it does is it allows us, every staff member at the hospital, to enter any type of event that may apply to safety, patient inconvenience or anything out of the ordinary, or maybe a dissatisfaction of a patient.
This makes it a lot more convenient to report things that we can then analyze and look at and make improvements on.
It’s much more convenient than the paper system.
Now, they send us these events and data, and it allows us to see more clearly what’s going on in the hospital. And when we see a trend in something, we can act on it right away.
Not only that, but the follow-up doesn’t get lost on someone’s desk.
It’s all online, so you get e-mail from the application saying you have something you need to review.
It’s more timely.
Q: Why did Gulf Coast choose this system?
A: It was really a Signature, our hospital corporation, decision, and it’s actually used in all of our sister facilities.
They had some experience with this product a good time ago in their history, so they introduced it to us.
It gives us, really, some real-time data.
It goes beyond the big issues that happen in hospitals. It shows the day-to-day things that the staff can have an effect on.
Everything from, if they don’t have enough laundry, linen, for the day. We can fix that problem.
It may just be a one time thing, or it may be something that we’re not doing Sunday night to have ready Monday morning.
Sometimes, it’s things you never expected or have seen before.
Q: How many of Gulf Coast’s staff are trained on the software?
A: P. Feagin: All the staff are trained, and what’s nice about the software is that since we’re a group of hospitals with Signature we can write down suggestions to improve how user-friendly it is and send them to be considered for change.
Q: How long does it take to train staff on the program?
A: J. Janak: It takes five to 15 minutes to train someone on the program. At the most, with someone who isn’t familiar with computers, it’ll take 30 to 40 minutes.
Q: How long does it take staff to enter information into the program?
A: P. Feagin: It only takes three to four minutes to enter the event information after they become familiar with the program.
Brandon L. Leonard is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact him at 361-574-1286 or bleonard@vicad.com. You can comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.