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Patient safety Technologies

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    Data Source：研創暨智慧醫療中心       
    • Infection Control System：To strengthen infection control and enhance patient safety, our hospital established a robust and efficient "Infection Control Management System." Integrating data from electronic medical records, physician orders, medication administration records, and laboratory results, the system automatically imports patient information and utilizes advanced intelligent algorithms to accurately identify high-risk patients. It provides specific intervention recommendations, assisting staff in taking swift action and conducting follow-up. Furthermore, its multi-dimensional data visualization capabilities offer crucial decision support for management. Since its implementation, the average time for reporting infection events has drastically decreased from 7.6 hours to just 2.8 hours, and the administration rate for prophylactic antibiotics reached 95.2%, far surpassing manual methods. This efficient system not only safeguards patient safety during care but also significantly alleviates staff workload. Data visualization allows infection control physicians to monitor infection trends in real-time, enabling rapid adjustments to prevention strategies and effectively curbing potential outbreaks. We further enhanced our epidemic prevention measures using innovative technology; since March 2021, the "Nine-Palace Grid Epidemic Prevention Dashboard" platform integrates key data (testing capacity, supply inventory, medication, vaccine data), providing real-time situational awareness for optimizing strategies. This digital platform aids resource management and ensures the smooth operation of our prevention system, protecting patients and staff. This innovative system received the SNQ National Symbol of Quality (Biotechnology and Medical Care Quality Award) in 2020, highlighting our excellence in patient safety. We will continue refining the system towards the goal of a zero-infection hospital, ensuring patient safety remains our unwavering commitment.
    • Total Testing Process Intelligent Management System: Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital (KVGH) has revolutionized its laboratory processes since 2019 with the implementation of its Smart Integrated Laboratory Management System. This comprehensive system leverages digitalization and automation to significantly enhance patient safety and optimize medical decision-making efficiency. Comprising eight smart modules, it serves as a complete laboratory decision support tool, proactively mitigating potential risks and improving the overall patient healthcare experience. The system integrates diverse registration and blood collection appointment mechanisms, complemented by intelligent triage and real-time waiting time algorithms, effectively preventing testing failures. Its cloud-based sample preparation function automatically affixes labels and performs identity verification, while a special remarks system prevents erroneous operations. For specimen transportation, a smart unloading and sign-off system establishes a seamless, continuous workflow. This is further enhanced by 3D photography and AI error detection technology that automatically identifies anomalies, with continuous time tracking ensuring specimen integrity.Within the central laboratory, a Total Laboratory Automation (TLA) system is integrated with high-precision instruments, enabling high-throughput specimen processing, automatic decapping, and efficient aliquoting. This facilitates integrated testing and automated dilution capabilities. The system also features technology-assisted interpretation, automatic review and release, and an automatic critical value notification mechanism, drastically reducing report turnaround times. A comprehensive management module consolidates lean process management, real-time alerts, quality control, cloud information management, and patient safety management, forming a complete closed-loop management system.The implementation of this system has yielded remarkable results. The average waiting time for blood collection has been dramatically reduced from 12.8 minutes to 6.5 minutes. During peak hours, this reduction is even more significant, dropping from 62.4 minutes to just 7.5 minutes, an impressive improvement rate of 88%. Phlebotomists' blood collection time has been shortened by 41.2%, and the completion time for urgent and routine biochemical test reports has improved by 91.5%. The notification timeliness for critical value tests (such as K+, Ca, Glucose) has also seen a 44.4% improvement.The system has also boosted laboratory productivity and efficiency. The monthly productivity of medical technologists in generating test reports has increased by 32.4%, and the volume of routine test orders has risen by 41.1%. With an automatic report validation rate of 71.5%, each medical technologist saves 4 hours per month. Cumulatively, this saves 3095 hours annually for medical technologists, allowing for a reduction of 5 full-time equivalents. Furthermore, the number of times medical technologists handle specimens has decreased by 74.1%, significantly reducing infection risks for staff.Financially, the system has demonstrated significant cost-effectiveness. Total revenue has increased by 62.1%, and employee productivity has risen by 51.2%. Annually, the hospital saves NT$610,000 in procurement costs for blood collection tubes and medical waste disposal. Most importantly, the reduction in patient waiting times for blood collection generates over NT$340,000 in economic value for the public each year, greatly enhancing patient satisfaction.Through the seamless integration of its outpatient smart laboratory system and the intelligent track system, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital has successfully established Taiwan's first-ever one-stop continuous workflow for outpatient specimen collection, transportation, sign-off, testing, reporting, and storage. This achievement embodies the vision of a "lights-out laboratory," creating a win-win situation for both immediate medical decision-making and patient safety. This pioneering effort has attracted visits from 14 domestic hospitals, 2 Vietnamese hospitals, and 2 multinational companies, leading to the publication of 17 outcome reports, including Taiwan's first SCI journal article on the effectiveness of total laboratory automation. KVGH has truly set a benchmark for smart hospitals.
    • Disaster Damage Reporting System:Prioritizing patient safety above all, our hospital developed an advanced "Disaster Damage Reporting System" to ensure rapid and effective response during disasters. This system facilitates swift resource mobilization and maintains medical service continuity, thereby safeguarding patients' fundamental rights. In 2023, our hospital received the National Sustainable Development Award, recognizing our outstanding disaster preparedness and response mechanisms. Over the past year, we activated typhoon response procedures three times, successfully processing 32 damage reports during Typhoon Doksuri, 49 during Typhoon Haikui, and 22 during Typhoon Koinu. Following standard operating procedures, the system enabled rapid restoration of hospital facilities, ensuring uninterrupted medical services. During the preparedness phase, departments utilize the system for early risk warnings, allowing the hospital administration to promptly allocate resources and reinforce protective measures. When disasters strike, our dedicated response teams react quickly, ensuring efficient and smooth post-disaster recovery operations. We will continue optimizing this smart disaster management system to enhance real-time damage reporting and response capabilities, further building a safer and more resilient healthcare environment as we advance towards our smart hospital vision.
    • Incident Reporting System:To safeguard patient safety and proactively mitigate potential risks, our hospital, placing patient safety at the core of our services, has implemented an advanced Incident Reporting Management System. This highly automated system enables real-time logging of various adverse events, utilizing color-coding based on risk levels to ensure immediate attention. Its streamlined workflow effectively tracks the management process for each incident and allows categorization by event type, enhancing management efficiency. Healthcare staff can easily report and follow up on incidents with minimal effort, significantly improving the timeliness and convenience of incident handling. Since its deployment, incident reporting rates have markedly increased. Crucially, root cause analysis is promptly conducted for every incident, and corrective actions are implemented, effectively preventing the recurrence of similar issues. Furthermore, the data generated by the system provides a clear overview of the hospital's safety status and identifies potential risk areas, offering management robust evidence for developing targeted safety policies and improvement measures. This further enhances medical quality and patient safety assurance. These outcomes demonstrate our continuous improvement in patient safety and reflect our ongoing commitment to quality and risk management. We will continue to rely on this system to strengthen patient safety and constantly optimize related management processes.
    • Interdisciplinary Insights: Leveraging Conference Takeaways to Enhance Patient Safety：Following our attendance at the "Medical Technology and Patient Safety Risk International Conference" and the "Intelligent Medical Care and Patient Safety Conference", we have gained a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamic interplay between medical technology and patient safety. From policy formulation to international trends, and from the practical experiences of major hospitals, the core consensus of all the topics is that technological innovation must always prioritize the maintenance and improvement of patient safety.During these two conferences, we acquired in-depth knowledge about the development trend of artificial intelligence (AI) in the medical field and its impact on patient safety and medical quality. From machine learning to large language models, AI is revolutionizing the medical industry at an unprecedented pace. However, the "black box" nature of AI, data bias, and the increasing threat of cyber attacks all pose higher requirements for medical institutions' risk management capabilities.Concurrently, we also gained insight into the practical experiences of major hospitals in intelligent medical care, such as the comprehensive intelligent medical protection network established by Taipei Veterans General Hospital, which encompasses five major aspects: medication safety systems, genetic integration, AI-assisted diagnosis, and more. These systems collectively create a safe and reliable intelligent medical environment, effectively preventing medical errors and ensuring patient safety.Furthermore, we learned about the impact of intelligent medical care and nursing applications on patient safety and medical quality. For instance, the four closed-loop systems implemented by Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, including medication management, blood transfusion, pathology packaging, and AI-generated nursing records, have not only improved patient safety and medical quality but also reduced labor costs and paper usage, resulting in a significant reduction in carbon emissions.In conclusion, we have come to realize that AI is transforming the medical industry at an unprecedented pace. As medical professionals, it is essential that we both embrace these new technologies and remain vigilant, ensuring that technological development always prioritizes patient-centered care. This entails that while promoting innovation and digital transformation, we must continue to focus on patient needs and safety, guaranteeing that all technological applications not only enhance efficiency but also improve patient experience and outcomes.Therefore, we firmly believe that medical institutions should actively promote cross-disciplinary cooperation and talent cultivation, establish a robust management framework for intelligent medical care, enhance overall medical information infrastructure and cybersecurity, and encourage responsible innovation and experience sharing. By doing so, we can strike a balance between emerging technologies and patient safety, achieving comprehensive improvement in medical quality and providing the safest care for every patient.

     

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