By Debra Wood, RN, contributor
Although they may never completely replace the traditional nursing station, mobile carts can save nurses steps and streamline operations for hospitals.
InfoLogix provides mobile computer carts to more than 1,500 hospitals nationwide. Photo credit: InfoLogix
“We created mobile work stations for the nurses to increase efficiency,” said Nancy Stockslager, RN, MSN, patient care systems manager at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. “The nurses put stickers on it, they decorate it. Different units have named the carts. I think the flexibility of having the computer in a one-to-one situation with nurses has increased the efficiency of a lot of processes.”
Marjorie Lavin, RN, MS, CNRN, and colleagues at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network in Allentown, Pa., conducted a study evaluating whether mobile medication carts improved work processes. Results showed that they improved efficiency.
“We found the locked door [carts] did improve nurse workflow,” Lavin said. “They went back to the med room less often.”
The Flo Healthcare 1760 wireless mobile workstation is equipped with new features that enable nurses to connect more effectively with real-time information at the point of care. Photo credit: Flo Healthcare.
At Northside Hospital, a robot fills the drawers in the cart with medications specific to each patient assigned to that specific nurse for the day, which reduces the handling of drugs, hopefully decreasing the risk of errors.
However, the mobile carts can become heavy due to all of the drawers, the computer, the barcode scanner and an extended-life battery, Stockslager said.
Nurses at University of Colorado Hospital in Denver solved that problem by placing carts, complete with a computer and barcode scanner, in each patient room. Patient-specific medications, such as inhalers, are kept in a locked draw on the cart.
“We believe [carts] have improved the quality of care, the safety and the satisfaction of nurses,” said Carolyn Sanders, RN, PhD, vice president of patient services and chief nursing officer at University of Colorado Hospital.
“Initially, we were going to have one cart for every nurse, and they would roll the cart from room to room. But they found it was not convenient,” said Sanders, adding that since installing carts in every room, “[the nurses] are thrilled. It was a big deal for them.”
Facilities often employ carts to bring medications and bar code scanners to the bedside. Decked out with a wireless computer, the carts allow documentation to take place as care happens—no running back to a paper chart.
Now, hospitals are finding new ways to use the mobile workstations.
The urinary track infection (UTI) prevention team at The Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Reading, Pa., capitalized on the use of computer carts with bar code scanners. They created signs asking “Did you remove a Foley today?” as visual reminders for nurses to check if the patient still needs the catheter, and to obtain an order to remove it if not needed.
“We have decreased our catheter-associated UTI rate quite significantly,” said Barbara Romig, RN, MSN, CPHQ, director of clinical practice at The Reading Hospital.
Northside Hospital’s respiratory therapy department also uses mobile carts, stationing two carts on each unit—one with supplies and one with a computer to document care, check on orders and review lab results.
“Once they leave the department, they have everything they need to do their jobs,” said Larry Lindberg, coordinator of respiratory therapy at Northside.
Lindberg has worked with cart manufacturer Flo Healthcare to create a bracket to hold its portable blood gas analyzers, which gives the therapists the ability to draw the blood gas and analyze it at the bedside.
“It has sped them up, and if you need a blood gas in a hurry, you are not running back to a centralized lab,” Lindberg said.
Mobile carts also may be used for educational purposes. In the March 2009 issue of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, researchers at Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston reported that by equipping a mobile cart with a simulation mannequin and related equipment and taking it to hospital units, they were able to reach clinicians who might not otherwise benefit from educational simulation.
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