A big step forward in speed, quality and safety at AZ Jan Palfijn Hospital

At AZ Jan Palfijn (Belgium), every department works with Alphatron Medical’s mobile care station AMiS. About half of them are combined with a vital signs monitor. The hospital in Ghent took this solution into use in phases last year. Employees were immediately enthusiastic when they started working with it. The speed, quality and safety of the care process improved by leaps and bounds.

“Our nursing carts were in dire need of replacement,” says Edwin Moerenhout, Director of Patient Care at AZ Jan Palfijn Ghent. Until recently, the Belgian hospital used rather large carts that held non-medical laptops. “Those were often left in the hallway. Our nurses went to patients’ bedsides with all kinds of loose instruments to measure vital signs, such as temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and oxygen. “The results were written on a piece of paper and later manually added to the electronic health record (EHR) on the laptop. “Often nurses did that only after their full round of care. That was inefficient and also error-prone.”

In search of integrated solution
In 2022, AZ Jan Palfijn went in search of a new compact mobile care station with an integrated computer that would allow employees to easily get to the patient’s bedside. In addition, the hospital was looking for a single system to measure all vital signs that would be stored automatically. “Our big wish was to combine them into one integrated solution with a direct connection to the EHR,” said Edwin Moerenhout.

Nursing test care stations
“After careful market research and comparison of mobile care stations, we chose the AMiS from Alphatron Medical,” explained Edwin. “The AMiS scored above average on technology, battery life and longevity. In addition, we had our nursing staff test the care stations on usage and ergonomics. Their needs and experiences were important to our choice. They must be able to work with it comfortably.”

Immediately a familiar feeling
AZ Jan Palfijn, meanwhile, had chosen Mindray as its system for measuring vital signs. Alphatron Medical mounted such a monitor on 27 of a total of 52 AMiS care stations. In early 2023, all care stations were delivered and immediately put into use. “Working with it immediately felt familiar to our colleagues,” Elias reveals. “The fact that they could easily drive the AMiS right up to the patient’s bedside was a big advantage. And also the measurement of vital signs went much faster thanks to the integrated monitor.”

Good for the long term
AZ Jan Palfijn is positive about the integrated solution. It provides the hospital with the benefits they had hoped for in Ghent. Edwin: “Nurses can work more pleasantly and faster because they have to do fewer operations. Manual entry is a thing of the past and that significantly reduces the risk of errors.” AZ Jan Palfijn continues to work on increasing the speed, quality and safety of their care process. This is much needed at a time of increasing staff shortages and growing demand for care. “The combination of the AMiS care stations and vital signs monitor is a solution that we are comfortable with for the long term,” Edwin concludes.

“Nurses can work more pleasantly and faster because they have to do fewer operations. Manual entry is a thing of the past and that significantly reduces the risk of errors.”