Centre Hospitalier du Nord uses Datalogic PDAs to secure patient movements

The Centre Hospitalier due Nord (CHdN) is committed to providing the highest possible standard of care while promoting the wellbeing of its patients, visitors, partners and employees. At the same time, the hospitals must be careful to use public resources efficiently.

Managing 48,000 patient transports with pen and paper

CHdN provides comprehensive care services to the people of North Luxembourg from two sites at Ettelbruck and Wiltz. Until recently, CHdN used DECT phones and a manual system to manage the internal movement of patients. They relied on pens and paper, so if a member of staff needed to ask logistics to move a patient, they gave the details over the phone.

This was not efficient, as it could take five or six calls to locate an available member of the logistics department, and patients’ details were sometimes misheard. With some errors in data and not much management information, it was a high priority for CHdN to increase patient safety, speed things up, and use the hospitals’ resources more efficiently.

New software – and one device to do everything

First, they chose a software application, Geosoft’s PTAH MOB, to manage patient logistics. Members of the logistics team then chose Datalogic’s Memor™ 10-HC PDAs with wireless charging – one device that would do everything they needed.

The Memor 10-HC is designed for use in healthcare. It uses Datalogic’s ‘Green Spot’ technology to verify barcodes silently. This is ideal if patients are moved at night when other patients are sleeping nearby. Its wireless charging makes it easier to clean, and its wipe-clean disinfectant-ready case is resistant to the strong chemicals used in hospitals. “Memor 10 gives us an integrated 1D/2D bar code scanner, robustness, and resistance to cleaning with disinfectant solutions as well as wireless charging”, says Frank Nelissen, Software Team Leader at CHdN.

Datalogic’s Luxembourg partner, 4i, provided the technical expertise for the project. They are transport and logistics specialists and have completed many successful projects with Datalogic.

More patients, more accurate data

The new solution went live just as the Coronavirus Pandemic was sweeping across Europe and the hospital was becoming busier. CHdN now uses PTAH MOB and the Memor 10-HC devices to manage all their patient transports, and hospital staff can easily reach the nearest available transport agent when a patient needs to be moved from one place to another.

Frank Nelissen, Software Team Leader at CHdN explains: “We scan the barcodes on the patients’ wristbands, and we can verify that we have the correct person and provide the correct care at the right time.”

The number of patients and patient transports has grown, but the system is reliable. Everything is planned, monitored, and controlled. Patient data is more accurate and there is no paperwork – this is a huge benefit all round. The hospitals have taken a huge step forward in terms of efficiency and patient safety.