KANKAKEE, IL – Riverside Healthcare is rolling out smartphones to bedside nurses in the Riverside Medical Center to improve patient care.
Kathy O’Grady, Riverside’s vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer, said the idea was initiated by staff at an in-house think-tank event. The specialized smartphones will be equipped with apps such as EPIC Rover, which enables healthcare team members to review charts and complete documentation on the go, enhancing efficiency, safety, and accuracy. The phones will also give care team members access to patient education resources to provide more information about treatment options.
The secure smartphones will be used only inside the medical center and are not personal devices, O’Grady said. Other applications that will be loaded onto the phones include Informacast, which allows Riverside employees to receive emergency alerts, and Lippincott Procedures, the evidence-based source of truth for nursing practice.
Messaging and phone capabilities will allow staff to communicate with other departments and providers during patients’ stays. Riverside Healthcare is looking forward to rolling out these devices to in-patient units soon.
The implementation of these smartphones is expected to significantly enhance the quality of care at Riverside Healthcare and represents a big step forward in the use of technology to improve patient outcomes.
