The Medanets app has replaced manual documentation practices on the psychiatric wards of Kanta-Häme Central Hospital, Finland. Acting Head Nurse Mija Huttunen says the biggest improvements have been in documenting PRN (as-needed) medication and vital signs.
Before Medanets, staff relied on post-it notes to support their documentation of patient data. The benefits of the app, such as fast, secure transfer of data to the EHR system and improved accessibility, have been clear from the start, Huttunen explains. For this article, Huttunen also gathered feedback from her colleagues.
Up-to-date medication information at your fingertips
One of the main drivers for the implementation was the need to get information on medication administrations smoothly to the EHR.
“The app’s biggest advantage is with PRN medication. Documenting these in the EHR used to be time-consuming, so sometimes entries were missed. Now, staff can document the PRN medication administration immediately, without needing to access a computer,” explains Huttunen. “Medication details are always at hand when administering medications or when patients have questions.”
Up-to-date medication documentation also helps to assess treatment effectiveness. Even in urgent situations, staff can quickly check when a patient last received a PRN medication, allowing them to assess whether another dose is appropriate or if the doctor should review the medication plan.
One challenge typical of psychiatric wards is patient identification from wristbands. While recommended for safety, patients often don’t want to wear them, especially when they are allowed home leave during longer treatment. “Sometimes wristbands end up in the bin or patients swap them as a joke—both are safety risks. So, we often rely on other identification methods,” Huttunen explains.
”Monitoring vital signs is just as important in psychiatry”
While medication was the primary driver for adopting Medanets, Huttunen highlights that monitoring vital signs is equally important in psychiatric care. Observations are made routinely at set intervals and as needed.
“For example, we monitor patients’ condition with the help of vital signs during flu season or when they’re on blood pressure medication. Some patients, such as those with eating disorders or poor nutrition, require careful vital signs monitoring to ensure their condition does not affect the vital functions,” Huttunen says.
“Medanets Medication was key for us, but I’d say Observations are just as important. Documenting vital signs in psychiatric care is as essential as on somatic wards—oxygen saturation perhaps being the only exception,” Huttunen adds.
People make the change
The new practices spread through example. “It’s important to talk about the change continuously. When a few people notice the benefits and share them, others become motivated. I’ve tried to lead by example. The change isn’t complete yet, but we are moving in the right direction.”
Initially, network issues made it challenging to establish the new workflows, but these were resolved by adding additional access points. ”We also had a lot of other changes happening at the same time with Medanets, so staff were a bit overwhelmed at first,” Huttunen recalls.
Lessons and insights for a successful rollout
“My advice to others planning a rollout is: be patient. Change takes time. Challenges and resistance will happen, but things settle eventually. From a leadership perspective, support is key—be present, lead by example, and keep the conversation going,” says Huttunen.
“It was also important to communicate that the technical challenges we faced in the beginning were addressed, and that the app’s functionality improved. Regular ‘check-in’ meetings during rollout are very helpful, and they are a good opportunity to share successes,” Huttunen emphasises.
Medanets’ training gets high marks from Huttunen and her colleagues. “Perhaps one aspect could have been highlighted more strongly: that the development of systems and apps is always ongoing. It’s important to stress that all ideas and improvement suggestions are worth raising. Medanets did tell us we can always get in touch, but this could have been communicated even more prominently.”
Other customers using Medanets in psychiatric wards include the Finnish wellbeing services counties of Southwest Finland, Satakunta, and Pirkanmaa.