Business Process Reengineering of the Workflows in Intensive Care Unit Supported with a Tablet PC Based Automation System

Abstract

For the traditional implementers of an Hospital Information Management System (HIMS), the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) presents many new challenges. Due to the nature of admissions to this department and the criticality of time for initiating various procedures, many of the processes of HIMS are bypassed. This creates a problem for the HIMS designer. Many conventional HIMS systems handle this by avoiding the ICU from the HIMS implementation, allowing it to continue with the manual process being followed prior to the introduction of the HIMS system. The manual system creates inaccuracies and delays in the information collection and transmission processes. Due to this the senior consultants are denied a complete and comprehensive picture of the situation of the patient that would have been possible with an automated system. The ICU automation system uses a separate ICU server to automate the back-end processes and provide the required isolation from the HIMS server and the stringent processes running there. This server implements a local WiFi network in the ICU that interconnects a set of Tablet PCs running a host of Android applications to automate the workflow there. The ICU server is accessible from the doctors smart phone as well allowing him to view the status of the patient in a comprehensive fashion. This paper presents the system architecture and functionality of important modules.