This post was originally featured on The Pristine Blog.
The ECRI Institute just released a list outlining the top 10 safety issues facing hospitals in 2014. The Joint Commission will be looking at these issues with particular focus over the coming year as they audit hospitals. This list helps us understand the problems that are currently plaguing hospitals and how we can leverage our solutions to address them.
Eyeware computers, including Glass, present incredible new opportunities to improve patient safety at lower costs, thus driving value. Our solutions on Glass solve several of these acute problems by enabling new abilities which can transform existing procedures. In short, we help deliver lower overall costs and safer medical care.
6) Inadequate Reprocessing of Endoscopes and Surgical Instruments - This has been an acute challenge because scope processing staff can't use their hands to interact with digital or paper checklists. This problem is particularly difficult to deal with because the cleaning process for many of these scopes involves 40-50 steps that can take over one hour. Each scope per manufacturer and model has to be cleaned according to a unique set of instructions. With just a few models of scopes, the system is highly prone to mistakes; it's very easy to miss a single step. Using Pristine CheckLists, scope processing staff are able to utilize checklists per manufacturer and model with their voices. Additionally, because Pristine CheckLists support images and videos, staff can take pictures and videos at each step along the way without using their hands.
10) Retained Devices and Unretrieved Fragments - Everyone has heard of horror stories in which a sponge, towel, or other item was left inside of the patient during the surgery. Many vendors are developing solutions that attempt to tackle this problem. Given that there are literally dozens of opportunities for error per surgery, the ultimate solution will probably be multi-pronged. Using Pristine EyeSight, we're helping provider organizations understand what causes mistakes. And using Pristine CheckLists, we can help nursing staff maintain an accurate count as they place items inside and remove items from the body cavity.
Glass and other wearable computers will leverage context to drive value. The practice of medicine is defined by specific actions of hospital personnel in particular contexts, often in conjunction with other providers and workers. Pristine's apps on Glass will support a future of medicine in which both computers will assist humans as contextually necessary.