Neonatal intensive care units (NICU) across the state are set to benefit from a state-of-the-art clinical information system, following the pilot of the Electronic Record for Intensive Care for NICU/PICU at Nepean Hospital.
NICU and Pediatric ICU (PICU) facilities are extremely complex and information-rich environments, and until now, there has been no standardised electronic medical record process, specifically for neonatal and pediatric ICUs.
In a bid to support value-based health care, the eRIC platform (which has recently completed Phase 1 for adults) was tailored to suit the treatment of newborns and young children. At its core, the new system will provide significant improvements to patient care, thanks to a range of key benefits.
The new system, which replaces most paper records in the ICU, aims to increase the time available to NICU and PICU clinicians to care, observe and manage patients and interact with family, as well as enabling specialised medical staff to access records, regardless of location.
Improved clinical practices ensure better care
In addition, improved clinical practice through a reduction in incidents, and enhancing the continuity of care during handovers also feature, along with the removal of the risks of harm that can arise from errors of transcription, omission or duplication when managing paper records.
“The more I use eRIC the easier it gets,” registered nurse and clinical nursing educator Alison said. “eRIC is now my friend and medication prescribing is so much clearer than the old way – on paper.”
This standardised approach also sets the scene for NSW to be leaders in ICU data analysis increasing the potential for research and quality management improvements across the state.
Integrated with the purpose-built Metavision ICU platform, eRIC NICU and PICU has been custom designed to provide a centralised solution for continuity of patient care across local health districts, and a single source of truth for data auditing, clinical practice improvement and future research.
It was developed with the direct involvement of neonatal and pediatric clinicians and human centered design experts from across NSW. eRIC for NICU/PICU can also be integrated with the award-winning medication management app, the electronic Transfer of Care (eTOC) platform, developed by eHealth NSW.
