Northwestern Michigan Surgery Center’s new app lets families track patients — 6 things to know

Northwest Michigan Surgery Center in Transverse City implemented a new app allowing patients’ friends and family to follow their journey through the surgery center, according to a Health Data Management report.

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The surgery center includes the real-time locating system technology from Versus Technology to track patient progress and operating room patient flow. Here are six key notes on the technology:

 

1. Northwest Michigan Surgery Center has used the technology for five years.

 

2. Family and friends at the surgery center can watch the patients’ progress on a large television screen outside the cafeteria. However the large patient waiting room’s layout wasn’t conducive for video display so family members still frequently asked nurses and staff about the patients.

 

3. Versus developed the app along with Flight Path Creative and SMB Group. They launched the app in November, which allows family members to track the patient’s progress on mobile devices.

 

4. Patients can give family members and friends a password to use on the ASC’s website to download the app and track the appropriate individuals. The password changes daily.

 

5. Family and friends are able to watch multiple color bars highlighting the patient’s progress from intake to preop, operating room, recovery and discharge.

 

6. The surgery center’s CEO LoAnn Vande Leest said implementing the technology wasn’t expensive “in the grand scheme of things” and the ASC staff have experienced fewer disruptions after implementing the technology.

 

More articles on surgery centers:
MedPAC proposes eliminating ASC payment updates in 2017: 5 key notes
Erlanger Health System to build $35M outpatient center: 5 things to know
5 key observations on ASC payer contracts in 2016

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