Photography is a long established and still highly effective invention. However, when it comes to capturing and sharing clinical photos, a camera alone is not enough. At the Medanets User Days in February, Designer, Registered Nurse and MSc (Health Sciences) Ville Jalo explained how and why the Wellbeing Services County of Southwest Finland will use Medanets to support clinical photo documentation going forward.
Why is a new solution for clinical image management needed?
Example: inpatient ward
A patient is found to have a wound infection. The nurse collects a shared camera from three floors below and returns to the ward to take a photograph. Afterwards, the camera is taken back. A hospital porter receives it (if they are not on leave) and uploads the image to a computer. The designated storage location does not recognise the camera directly, so the image must first be saved to the porter’s personal network drive and then manually transferred to the correct folder.
Eventually, the image becomes available in the EHR. However, valuable time has been spent transporting the camera and manually transferring the file. If the porter is absent, the delay may be significant.
Example: hospital-at-home
A nurse visits a hospital-at-home patient and identifies a wound infection. The nurse informs the doctor about the change in the wound. As cameras are not standard equipment for hospital-at-home staff, the doctor receives only a verbal description.
However, the doctor wishes to see the wound. The patient must either attend an outpatient appointment or the doctor must make a home visit. In both cases, treatment is unnecessarily delayed. A doctor’s home visit takes up a considerable portion of their working time, reducing the number of patients they are able to help.
Do these examples sound familiar? Situations like these prompted the Wellbeing Services County of Southwest Finland to look for a more efficient and secure way to capture and share clinical photos.
An integrated and secure photo solution embedded in clinical workflows
The photo solution used in Southwest Finland has been implemented in collaboration with CGI. Through the Medanets app, the nurse takes a photograph using the mobile device camera. From the nurse’s perspective, the workflow remains seamless, and the image is automatically linked to the correct patient record.
The image is transferred to the OMNI360 Share, which clinicians can access via the Uranus and OMNI360 EHR system. This ensures that the image is available to all professionals involved in the patient’s care, across organisational boundaries.
Images are not stored on the mobile device. The privacy layer within the OMNI360 Share ensures that users can only access information they are authorised to view.
Faster care and potential cost savings through clinical images
According to Ville Jalo, the mobile solution delivers multiple benefits in the management of clinical images. Patient care is accelerated, and the solution may also generate cost savings.
With access to images, a specialist can make clinical decisions based on their expertise without needing to attend in person. The need to open dressings purely for assessment may be reduced, leading to savings in wound care materials. In addition, images provide a more concrete and precise way to monitor treatment effectiveness over time.
The photo solution is scheduled to be introduced at Turku University Hospital during late winter and will then be rolled out to local hospitals, primary care wards and hospital-at-home services.
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