How can we contribute to the quality of life for our chronically ill patients – those patients who need to come to the hospital regularly for infusion therapy sessions that last for several hours? A working group at AZ Voorkempen took this question to a test group of 11 patients as part of the Safe Fast Infusion (SFI) project. The project proved to be a success, and not only because of its use of mynexuzhealth. It also turned out to be the inspiration for many other projects related to the hospital’s vision of patient participation.

This focus on patient participation is nothing new at AZ Voorkempen. Communications Officer Ilse Cornelis: “For several years now, we have been trying to engage our patients as much as possible in sharing information, for example. Consider the set-up of our brochures – we always ask our patients whether they are sufficient in terms of content. Or our Dialysis Clinic, where our own patients become ‘hands-on’ experts who help new patients in their dialysis journey. The SFI project is perfectly aligned with that vision.”

“The idea of reducing the time spent providing our infusion patients with their treatments had been on the table for quite some time, but due to COVID-19 we had to put our plans on hold for a while,” Bart Hertoghs, Nurse in the Outpatient Clinic for adults at AZ Voorkempen, tells us. “Every year, we perform around one thousand infusion treatments. We do this mainly for patients with chronic conditions, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. The regular administration of medication helps control the disease, but it also has an impact on their lives. After all, as a patient, you can easily spend several hours of your day coming to the hospital for your treatment. From checking your parameters to be sure you may receive your infusion on that day, to the preparation of the infusion by the hospital pharmacy, all the way up to disconnecting the infusion... It’s easy to see that the number of hours spent quickly adds up if you need to repeat this every month or two, especially if you are also expected at work. Within our working group, we looked at ways to shorten the whole process. And it soon became apparent that there was a great deal of waiting time between checking the parameters and starting the infusion. Wouldn’t it be helpful if patients could complete a questionnaire that allows the parameters to be checked before coming to the hospital? Then the pharmacy could also start preparing the infusion sooner.”

Safe Fast Infusion

These findings led to the creation of the SFI project, where SFI stands for Safe, Fast Infusion. Fast and Infusion speak for themselves, but safety was also a concern for the team. After all, it always needs to be possible to collect patient data and questionnaire responses, and share them with the hospital, in a uniform and secure way. A first possible solution proved to be unsatisfactory in this respect. Bart: “Consultations with our ICT department and the CWS specialists at nexuzhealth (Clinical Work Station, the central electronic health record), brought the patient app mynexuzhealth into focus. And with great results, since the app turned out to provide the security and features we were looking for.”

Cindy Pieters, IT Process Manager: “In addition, the answers from the questionnaire are automatically entered straight into our electronic health record (EHR), the CWS, where they are visible to our healthcare providers. There is no human intermediary, which eliminates the risk of errors. Thanks to this project, our patients today save up to an hour of time per treatment. The project, of course, also contributes to patient empowerment. After all, we always aim to give our patients an active role in managing their own recovery or treatment.”

Motivated patients

“Naturally, the start-up of the project was accompanied by the necessary challenges,” explains Eline Oeyen, Care and Innovation staff member at the hospital. “It wasn’t just about the digital integration of the questionnaire, which now had to be completed in advance, but also about the flow of the rest of the process, which also had to be adjusted. Someone is still needed to interpret the patient’s responses and to then deliver the prescription to the hospital pharmacy. What’s more, the hospital pharmacy now receives all prescriptions in a bundled format. And that definitely requires a different organisational system.”

“However, because we had started with a small working group and a limited number of patients, the inconveniences were limited,” said Bart. “And from there, we gradually expanded. We soon noticed that the patients were really motivated once the benefits of saving all that time became clear. We see this in other projects as well. Because SFI has become the inspiration for many more projects.”

Digital patient history document

Cindy: “Another great example is the patient history document, a multi-page document that patients can now complete digitally. Traditionally, the document was completed just before the procedure, often in the presence of a nurse. This turned out not to be the ideal time – the patients were more nervous at that point. We thought it would be better if the patients could do this in their own familiar surroundings. Even if you visit the hospital several times within a short period, you have to fill out the paper form, in full, before each visit. With the digital version, your answers are simply saved, so you only have to add new information. Once again, a great benefit for the patients and for our staff. But, of course, as with the SFI project, this also required internal adjustments. For instance, our anaesthetists used to know exactly which response boxes on the patient history documents contained the info they needed. In the digital version, they had to do a bit of searching. With small tweaks, such as an eye-catching layout, we made sure they can once again find the right information quickly.” 

“And thanks to a QR code we can print from CWS, elderly patients can easily complete the questionnaire, together with a family member. Meanwhile, we have also developed digital questionnaires for our Menopause and Obesity Clinics. Although, we always keep an eye out for what the patients want; if they prefer a paper version, this is, of course, also possible,” explains Ilse. “Because that is also patient participation.” 

Bart: “Thanks to the short lines of communication within the hospital, changes like these proceed smoothly and in consultation with our staff. We also try to include everyone in the mynexuzhealth story as much as possible – that means patients and staff alike, who may not always be familiar with the app.”

The hospital is therefore also putting a lot of effort into promoting the app. Eline: “We are also planning on providing more active help by way of an information stand. Patients can go there when they need support in installing the app or when they have questions about using it. We are also including our own employees in this digital story to the maximum extent possible. By showing them how to use the app for their own medical information, they can become familiar with its use, and they will also be more inclined to help their patients get started digitally.”

Future

“I am convinced that thanks to the SFI project, we are also better prepared for the future,” Bart concludes. “The government’s requirements are getting stricter and stricter, including in terms of sterility. In the future, for example, infusion preparation will have to be done in a clean room. And, in that case, the parameters will also have to be known in time. But since we have already developed these new procedures, we will surely be able to adapt more quickly to that new reality.”

Interested in empowering patients  in your healthcare institution? Check out the possibilities and advantages of mynexuzhealth here and contact one of our nexuzhealth consultants without obligation.