Motion Case Studies

Alegent Health - Motion C5 Mobile Clinical Assistant Case Study

The Challenge:

Alegent Health was relying on workstations on wheels (WOWs) and hardwired personal computers to input data throughout shifts. The WOWs were shown to take up too much room (safety regulation concerns), were difficult to move, and were shared, which created device competition and required multiple, time-consuming logins. Devices were required with each medication administration meaning that nurses could potentially push the heavy device up to 80 times per room, per shift. Staff reported increased back and shoulder pain.

Other challenges associated with the WOWs include:

• Battery life/charging (batteries would go dead, sometimes without warning, causing loss of documentation)
• Access (hunt, gather, hoard)
• Wireless Issues
• Inconvenient (lock when away)
• Data latency
• Difficult to clean and disinfect

The Solution:

Alegent was looking for an effective mobile device for clinician input that was easy to use and clean, could be used for all applications, was ergonomically correct, sturdy and convenient. Additionally, durability, long battery life, weight and ease of data entry played an important role in evaluating the C5. Approximately 20 nurses tested the Motion LE 1600 and C5 MCAs, integrated with the Siemens EMR solution for complete nursing mobility point of care documentation and medication administration using Siemens MAK (MedScan).

The Results:

Study results far exceeded the goals set. Up to 34% of preventable harmful medication errors occur at point of administration, and during the C5 study, clinicians identified 15 of 1853 “near misses”. Additional results/feedback include:

• Ergonomics: lightweight, excellent (gripping/carrying), satisfaction with available input devices (pen, on-screen keyboard, external keyboard/mouse, built-in medication scanner)
• Visibility: good (some concerns about screen size)
• Decreased data input latency: Hours decreased to minutes
  - 62% improvement in user satisfaction with clinical documentation activities
  - 73% improvement in user satisfaction with ergonomics of solution
  - 42% improvement in point of care documentation