Crouse adds patient-tracking system in operating room waiting area

SYRACUSE — Crouse Hospital has installed a patient-tracking system in the family-waiting area of its Witting Surgical Center.

The technology provides families with real-time, patient-status updates during the surgical process through a virtual view on a flat-screen monitor.

Each surgical patient has a unique identification (ID) number. Crouse makes the number available to any family member or friend that the patient authorizes to have the number.

As the patient moves through the surgical process, status updates labeled with the patient’s ID number will appear on the flat-screen monitor in colored bubbles, Crouse said.

The bubbles are color coded and denote various stages of the surgical process, the hospital said.

A red-colored bubble indicates the patient is in the pre-operative area, and a blue-colored bubble means the patient is in the operating room.

As the process continues, a green-colored bubble signifies that surgery has started, and the bubble turns pink when the patient returns to the recovery area following the procedure, according to the hospital.

Operating-room staff members enter patient-status updates into the system in real time. The clinical staff is also able to monitor the updates in the operating room, according to Crouse.

Information-desk volunteers and staff of the hospital’s patient and guest-relations department also have access to the patient-status updates, the hospital added.

Providing the “best patient care” depends on effective, timely communication, not just with patients but also with their family members, Jill Hauswirth, director of surgical services for Crouse Hospital, said in a news release.

“By providing the ability to receive ‘real-time’ surgical status updates, we believe this will advance the overall communication and educational process for patients and their family,” Hauswirth said.