Mobile communication platform minimises phone calls in the Emergency Department at Aalborg University Hospital
Clinical staff at the Emergency Department at Aalborg University Hospital have tested Systematic’s digital platform, Columna Flow Clinical Tasking, to improve communication and task coordination between physicians and nurses. They already experience significantly fewer disruptive calls and a much greater overview throughout the day.
Like so many other hospitals around the world, the Danish emergency departments are characterised by a busy working environment. The daily routine of clinical staff is marked by numerous patient-related calls and context shifts, making it challenging to maintain an overview and focus on the patient. With an unpredictable patient flow, there is a demand to quickly prioritise and allocate resources to the most critically ill patients. There is a need for a digital platform where physicians and nurses can swiftly coordinate, communicate, and gain insight into colleagues’ workloads.
To address challenges like these, Systematic has collaborated with computer scientists from Aarhus University and clinicians from Aalborg and Aarhus University Hospitals to develop a mobile communication platform. The platform, called Columna Flow Clinical Tasking, has undertaken multiple pilot tests at Aalborg University Hospital as part of the design and development process.
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Using Columna Flow Clinical Tasking, physicians can get a quick overview of patients and patient-related tasks sorted by the criticality of the patient and task. Additionally, the platform offers an overview of clinicians and their workload, allowing the coordinating senior physician to allocate and distribute patient tasks on an informed basis.
In the emergency department at Aalborg University Hospital, there is no doubt: The solution provides a better overview and fewer unnecessary interruptions.
“It is great that you can see how far the on-call residents are with the diagnosing of patients. I don’t like to push too hard for an update. It gives a much better overview than before.”
Nurses also experience a better workflow. Having Columna Flow Clinical Tasking in their pocket, they can be available for new patients while simultaneously handling other tasks such as cleaning, documenting, and more.
“I can perform meaningful tasks while waiting for a new patient and at the same time be available for new patients without being physically present.” says a Nurse in the Emergency Department at Aalborg University Hospital.
In Columna Flow Clinical Tasking, every patient is assigned a treatment team, ensuring that there are always designated contacts directly linked to a patient. Communication can occur either synchronously through calls or asynchronously in a message thread connected directly to the patient task, making it easy for the clinical staff to communicate about a specific patient while accessing relevant documentation from the patient’s medical record.
At Aalborg University Hospital’s emergency department, the clinical staff experience that the use of Columna Flow Clinical Tasking ensures more efficient communication and consequently faster patient treatment.
“It is fantastic. There’s an overview of the patients, you can confer, make calls and message. It replaces all the other phones and pagers.” says an on-call resident in the Emergency Department at Aalborg University Hospital.
Furthermore, a Coordinating Senior Doctor mentions that the platform can be advantageously used for non-patient-related communication, such as coordinating internal meetings and breaks within the department:
“Now I can see that I can create group chats in the system. That’s great because I want to gather all the on-call physicians here at 11 p.m. Normally, I would have to call each one of them one by one”.
Ease of use is highly valued in Systematic’s products, and therefore testing and customisation are paramount. The development of the mobile communication platform for the Emergency Department at Aalborg University Hospital is no exception. At Systematic, we have been responsive to participants’ feedback and have now arrived at a solution that meets the users’ needs and desires.
“The solution has been developed and optimised in close collaboration with the clinical staff in the Emergency Department in Aalborg. Close collaboration and honest feedback during the testing periods are crucial to achieving a good solution that supports healthcare professionals’ workflows. I’m impressed by the way the emergency department staff have taken ownership of the solutions’ development and the difference they say that the solution is already making in their work environment.”
Columna Flow Clinical Tasking is a mobile communication platform developed to ensure secure and efficient patient flow for the staff in hospital departments. The solution enables direct communication with colleagues through a secure messaging platform, thereby facilitating easier coordination, distribution, and prioritising of patients. The list of patient-related tasks and the responsible physician is reflected in real-time, and a task is always linked to a patient. This reduces the risk of communication errors, optimises collaboration, minimises unnecessary disruptions, and decreases the number of duplicate registrations.
If you also want to experience the described benefits at your hospital, please feel free to reach out to us. We offer a tailored pilot setup that allows you to test the mobile communication platform in your hospital department for a limited period. Based on our previous trials, it is our experience that after a few days of use, you will already see the effects of fewer interruptions and improved communication across professional groups.
Let us start by providing you with a demo of the solution and mapping out the improvement potential for your hospital. We are ready to offer guidance based on several years of experience in the field. Contact us through the form below.
The pilot project in brief
- The solution has been developed in collaboration between IT experts from Systematic, computer scientists from Aarhus University and clinicians from the university hospitals in Aarhus and Aalborg
- The project is financed by Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus University, Aalborg University Hospital, the Innovation Fund and Systematic
Facts about Aalborg University Hospital
- 929 beds
- 6,500 employees
- Denmark's fourth-largest hospital
- Covers Aalborg University Hospital, South, North, Hobro, Farsø, Thisted, Frederikshavn, Hjørring and Havrevangen, Aalborg
- Number 22 on Newsweek's list of the world's best hospitals
