27 March, 2019

EstimTrack has arrived at barnaclínic+, real-time information on the status of the surgical patient

For the past few weeks, the hospitalization ward of barnaclínic+ has a new real-time information system for relatives of surgical patients. EstimTrack is a tool that aids monitoring and provides information at all times of the surgical process and the condition of the patient being operated on. This information can be consulted from the screens of the Hospitalisation Room or from any mobile device, thanks to the application (Available for Android and iOS).

WHAT IS ESTIMTRACK FOR?

EstimTrack was born in 2016 as a project designed for the Surgical Unit of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. It has started to be used at the hospitalisation room of barnaclínic+ after proving to be an extremely efficient and very useful tool, which reduces the stress and anxiety of family members and improves the management of the processes in the Surgical Unit. In addition, it was recently given first prize in the category “Innovative management initiatives” of the Advanced Health Management Program organized by the IESE business school and Novartis.

EstimTrack reduces the stress and anxiety of family members and improves process management in the Surgical Unit

HOW DOES ESTIMTRACK WORK?

The EstimTrack system, developed by an internal team of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona in collaboration with the startup of the same name, bases its operation on automatic learning technology or machine learning. In other words, it uses historical data and examples to predict the duration of the processes and surgeries. This data is used to represent, through the screens or mobile devices, which part of the surgical process each patient is located. With this, these processes are improved, which also results in a better knowledge of the duration of the surgeries and a reduction of the waiting for the patients. The family members, being informed at all times of the patient’s condition, as we have said, suffer less stress and are not constrained to waiting for news from the waiting room or the hospital room.

THE ESTIMTRACK PROCESS AT BARNACLÍNIC+

1. Assigning a number for the patient

In the preparation of the surgery, at the beginning of the surgical process in the hospitalisation room, the family members receive the number that EstimTrack has assigned to the patient. A number is assigned to protect the patient’s identity at all times and maintain anonymity.

2. Explanation and downloading the app

The staff of the Hospitalisation Room then inform them about how the tool works and the possibility of checking the status of their family member on the screens or from their mobile device, by downloading the application.

3. Follow-up through the screens or mobile

From that moment on, the family members know the patient’s condition thanks to understandable information, with a friendly, simple and very clear design, based on easily recognisable iconography. With a process order from left to right and differentiating each phase, the icons that appear in each sector provide information on the status of the surgery, its duration and the room number assigned to the family member.

4. Real-time messages

During the surgical process, through the tablets installed in the Operating Rooms of the Surgical Area and the Post-Anesthesia Recovery Unit (PACU), the team involved can send immediate information to family members, in addition to assigning tasks for support staff (cleaning, sterilisation, stretchers, etc).