A Comparison of Two Transport Monitor Systems With Regard to Efficiency and Staff Satisfaction in the Perioperative Setting

Abstract

Background: Medical research aims to improve patient safety and efficiency in the perioperative setting. One critical aspect of patient safety is the intrahospital transfer of patients. Also, reliable monitoring of vital signs is crucial to support the medical staff. This study was conducted to assess two monitoring systems in terms of the handover time and staff satisfaction.

Methods: To assess several aspects, two monitoring systems were compared: an organizational unit-related monitoring system that needs to be changed and brought back to the initial organizational unit after the patient transfer and a patient-specific monitoring system that accompanies the patient during the whole perioperative process.

Results: In total, 243 patients were included, and 375 transfers were examined to analyze economic factors, including differences in handover times and user-friendliness. To this end, 30 employees of the Heidelberg University Hospital were asked about their satisfaction with the two monitoring systems based on a systematic questionnaire. It could be shown that, especially during transfers from the operating theater to the intensive care unit or the recovery room, the time from arrival to fully centralized monitoring and the total handover time were significantly shorter with the patient-specific monitoring system (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the staff was more satisfied with the patient-specific monitor system in terms of flexibility, cleanability and usability.

Conclusion: The increased employee satisfaction and significant time benefits during intrahospital transports may increase patient safety and efficiency of patient care, reduce employee workload, and reduce costs in the overall context of patient care.

Keywords: anesthesia; monitoring system; patient safety; perioperative; post-anesthesia care unit.