PraediAlert Improved Infection Prevention by Unlocking Hidden Data for Contact Tracing
THE SITUATION: A Break in the Chain of Contact Tracing
During an Infection Prevention (IP) surveillance review over the following days, the IP team determined that the unit staff followed proper procedures and that this patient’s condition had improved. However, this situation revealed a limitation in the electronic medical record (EMR). While the team knew the infectious patient had a roommate during the window of disease transmission, existing systems did not show a record of a patient’s previous room and bed location – only their current location. This limitation created a break in the chain of contact tracing.
THE SOLUTION: Unlocking Hidden Data
In order to manage infectious diseases more efficiently and make clinical interventions earlier, this facility leverages PraediAlert for their clinical surveillance program. While the IP team depends on PraediAlert for real-time notifications that inform healthcare decisions, in this case, the data in question was not readily available.
The IP staff immediately connected with the PraediAlert team, which is composed of IP and pharmacy subject matter experts and engineers with many decades of VA experience between them. The PraediAlert team was able to isolate the specific issue and identify when this patient’s location was changed within the EMR, any previous locations that were overridden, and the new location, which appeared to be the patient’s location for the entire hospitalization. PraediAlert’s database engineers discovered a hidden log embedded in the EMR that tracked the missing past patient locations.
The PraediAlert team implemented a display of the data in this hidden log which clearly showed admission and transfer history, bed status on a given date, and contact tracing. Contact tracing is paramount to a comprehensive infection prevention program, allowing potential disease spread to be discovered before it snowballs into an outbreak. This new display in PraediAlert creates a view of real-time, actionable data-points of where patients are and were within a unit, increasing the visibility of crucial information for direct patient care and infection prevention.
THE IMPACT: Enhanced Safety and Efficiency
By fully integrating this hidden log into the Praedialert application, IPs are now empowered with the complete, accurate patient movement data for:
- Improved Contact Tracing: Easily visualize a complete history of patient locations, identify potential exposures, and proactively prevent outbreaks.
- Enhanced Patient Safety: Quickly identify and isolate individuals at risk, minimizing the spread of infectious diseases.
- Increased Efficiency: Streamline investigations, reduce manual data entry, and free up valuable time for other critical tasks.
Disclaimer: This post highlights a specific case study and the potential benefits of PraediAlert. As of September 2024, Contact Tracing is now available for all hospitals using PraediAlert. Contact us to learn more.