The background: Building an app to document accurate surgical records in real time
Several years ago, I worked with a healthcare startup. Their goal: develop novel technology to power real-time surgical tracking of medical implants, like the titanium plates and screws used to repair a complex maxillofacial fracture.
The traditional steps to document surgical implants in the operating room (OR) could be more convenient. In short:
A representative of the supply company that provides the implants attends the surgery.
That rep assists the scrub tech in determining the right surgical asset to use and the specific requirements.
The scrub tech, in turn, helps prep and transfer the implant to the surgeon.
The supply company rep and circulating nurse separately and manually via pen and paper, record each asset used during the surgery.
The nurse then transfers this manually recorded information into the patient's electronic medical record (EMR).
Separately, the supply rep submits a paper record of their asset inventory from the surgery to the hospital, and the nurse submits their version (which may differ from what they manually inputted to the EMR).
Historically, these steps present surgical teams with two problems. First, nurses focused on their primary patient care task are distracted by an administrative task, impacting care quality and introducing risk. Second, the information entered into the EMR may not match what’s outlined in the rep’s or nurse’s post-surgical reports. Without accurate, matching records, payers often withhold or reduce reimbursement.
Together, the client and our team identified an opportunity to address these issues and provide greater value to the overall patient care experience.
The FDA mandates all surgical implant assets have a Unique Device Identifier (UDI). So we knew that tracking the UDI electronically would empower surgical teams and medical device company reps to concurrently, efficiently, and accurately record easily verifiable data about the implants.
With this in mind, we developed a camera-based tool (using iPhones or Android devices) that helped identify each implant used during surgery. Using the FDA GUDID database, we retrieved all relevant information and, per specific hospital requirements, wrote that data directly to the patient record. At the end of a procedure, but before leaving the OR, circulating nurses and surgical supply reps use the secure app to confirm and “sign off” on the accurate number of implants used.
It was a targeted, custom-made solution. But beyond this project, our process revealed possibilities for a continued partnership; and new opportunities for TXI and Redox.
