Saving time with the Wellpoint Kiosk

The consulting time of medical specialists at the University Hospital Antwerp has been fundamentally improved over the past two years. The screening of blood pressure, heart rate, height, weight, BMI and temperature is no longer done by a doctor, nurse or clinician but by the patient himself.  This has been possible thanks to the WellPoint Kiosk featuring the A&D TM-2657P Waiting Room Monitor.  Professor Dr. Guy Hans, medical director of the University Hospital talks more about it.

The WellPoint Kiosk is a collection of devices with which the patient can independently measure his/her vital parameters, such as blood pressure, heart rate, weight and temperature.  In addition, the patient can provide the healthcare professional with other clinically desired information by completing personal validated questionnaires for pre-screening and risk assessment.  The results are immediately passed to the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and therefore do not have to be entered manually, saving time and reducing data entry errors.  Healthcare professionals can immediately discuss the results with the patient during consultation hours.

At UZA, there are six of these kiosks embedded in the hospital flow.  Plans for further expansion contain the integration of this kiosk to keep the patient flow within the hospital as efficient as possible.

“The decision to work with this kiosk stems from the accreditation requirements set by JCI” says Professor Hans. “When we were working on accreditation to comply with the JCI quality standard for safe and quality care1, it became clear that we had a problem: we did not have the minimal clinical data of patients required”

This is a problem that is not unique to UZA. According to Professor Hans, many hospitals do not have this minimal set of patient data.

“In order to meet the quality standards for accreditation of JCI, UZA went in search of a solution to gather this patient data on a wide scale. We found this in the WellPoint Kiosk.”

Working with the kiosk has several advantages according Professor Hans.

“Thanks to the kiosk, we receive the results of the vital parameters from every patient who comes here during consultation hours. In this way, the physician has an up-to-date and accurate ‘snapshot’ of the patient’s physical condition during the consultation. Another important advantage is time saving; care providers do not have to take measurements manually anymore. That saves about 6 minutes per patient. Multiplied by the tens of thousands of patients who visit the UZA every year … that time saving is therefore enormous”.

Professor Hans emphasizes that UZA uses the time gained to optimize and improve the quality of care rather than to reduce costs.

Professor Hans commented that the quality of the consultation hours has greatly improved thanks to the kiosk.

“As soon as the patient enters my office, I have the vital parameters needed to start the conversation.  In addition, the kiosk is a great tool for working on primary prevention. We often see patients who have no symptoms but with this standard screening process, an increased blood pressure or a deviation in, for example the heart rate, is noticed.  If the doctor suspects abnormal / concerning results, he can immediately take action, consider referral to a specialist or back to the GP.  In particular, from a preventive point of view, the Kiosk is a particularly valuable addition to the care we provide as UZA.  Its something we couldn’t do without!”

1 https://www.jointcommissioninternational.org/

TM-2657P Waiting Room Blood Pressure Monitor

The TM-2657P is the latest model in the range of A&D freestanding fully automatic blood pressure monitors. Designed for high foot fall areas to save time and money offering a Return on Investment (ROI) normally within 6 months.

Features:

  • Can be integrated into Electronic Patient Record solution (EPR)
  • User-friendly small footprint & barrier-free design
  • Simple to use, one-touch measurement
  • Network connectivity options using Bluetooth or RS-232
  • Reliable high speed printer with easy paper replacement
  • Irregular Heart Beat (IHB) indicator
  • BHS A/A Clinically Validated