1250 Introduction of a New Electronic System in Surgery during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Aim The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects of clinical practice. Preventative measures to avoid spread of the virus has included maintaining social distancing, thus making surgical handovers and ward care particularly challenging. The surgical department at PAH were able to reflect on what improvements could be made to the current system during this time, with a particular focus on efficiency and information governance, while also maintaining social distancing. Due to the advancement in information technology, electronic systems have become widely used throughout the NHS and a quality improvement project was introduced to try and improve our department using an electronic handover Method A quality improvement project was carried out, with questionnaires sent out pre- and post-implementation to evaluate the impact of the new electronic handover. Results Implementation of the electronic handover improved the safety and efficiency of the surgical department, particularly with information governance (p < 0.001), efficiency of ward rounds (p = 0.002) and social distancing. Less doctors were taking lists home (p < 0.001) and fewer doctors needed to return to the MDT room during ward rounds to check key clinical information (p < 0.001). Close to 50% of doctors said that the implementation of an electronic system reduced the need to be in crowded MDT rooms to check patient information. Conclusions There were clear benefits to using an electronic healthcare system both for satisfaction of workers and for patient care. The project used pre-existing IT software that was modified through collaboration with the IT department and is something that will continue to be improved in the future.