Human Patient Simulation has found an important place in nursing and medical training, allied health, and EMT certification programs around the world. As patient simulation technology evolves, so do the methods and technologies used in its implementation. A close look at the relationship among simulation, information technology (IT), and an audio-video (AV) specialist will reveal that they are not as alien as you may think.

An IT professional’s work may come into play when faculty and learners are faced with the challenge of using a control room in which learners cannot see what the faculty is implementing into the session. This separation allows the operator to make changes to the simulator’s physiology without alerting students of the change, thus improving medical training and learner engagement. IT will assist in this process by ensuring that the distance between the control computer and the simulator does not lose operational ability, thus helping the session run smoothly.

AV professionals have the training and expertise required to design, install, and maintain an AV system. This may include something as simple as where to place the cameras, optimizing medical training. A poorly placed camera can result in a glare from lighting in the room or be obstructed by medical equipment. HVAC vents may create background noise and vibration resulting in poor audio and a blurry image. An experienced AV specialist will determine where drawbacks exist and will offer an alternative solution prior to installation. 

Most importantly, all good simulation sessions require that learners are debriefed using the images from these carefully placed cameras. Recorded video enables the instructor to show objective evidence of a learner’s activity. All in all, the recordings can become a baseline for proper medical training, showing both the progress and decline of a learner throughout training. Video documentation is crucial. It plays an important role on the emphasis placed on evidence-based practice. An AV professional will cater to the increased need for solid research on how simulation technologies impact the quality of patient care.

Simply put: Information Technology (IT) is critical for successful implementation and maintenance of patient simulation technology. Human patient simulation is not just one device, but includes a variety of technologies that have been adapted or combined in order to improve realism, simulator control, patient outcomes, and more. IT’s involvement is critical to the success of this technological system.

All of the most popular and widely used human patient simulators all rely on a number of parts. Each of these parts is susceptible to interference and loss of communication and is evaluated for their impact on a facility’s existing wireless infrastructure. Users must understand how these human patient simulation technologies impact their capabilities and learn, with IT’s assistance, how to address the challenges each brings to a simulated session.

With the use of a control room, where the computer that controls the simulator is usually separated by at least one wall or partition, additional challenges are met for the IT professional. You may wonder how one connects the simulation control computer to the simulator and related control devices from such a distance without losing operational ability. You may also ask when the learners are using human patient simulation tactics how the trainer knows precisely what they’re doing.

The short answer: planning and testing. Any physical port on a computer can be extended by a number of available devices and even wireless connectivity can be extended by using wireless access points and moving them closer to one another. An IT professional can help with all of this.

There are situations when the separation between the simulator and the control computer are so great and the need for the instructor to hear and see what learners are doing is crucial. This is where IT, and a great audio-video (AV) system comes into play. An AV system includes at least one camera, at least one microphone, headphones or speakers in the control room, and means of viewing the live feed during human patient simulation.

Who knows where to precisely place this audio-video equipment for maximum results for both learner and instructor? Your IT professional.

With the support of health information technology, astute preparation by staff and, yes, even some good old-fashion luck, hospitals and health systems along Hurricane Sandy’s path emerged from the storm relatively unscathed.

Officials at Atlanticare, one of New Jersey’s largest healthcare systems, based in Galloway and Atlantic City, N.J., cite early preparation among IT and safety staff as key to surviving this kind of storm.

“I had actually been tracking the weather the week prior,” Debra Fox, chief safety office at Atlanticare, tells Healthcare IT News. “Thursday is actually when we initiated our planning and communication to the leadership around beginning to put their operational preparedness plans in place,” she adds. This included topping off generator fuel and ensuring that the facility is able to withstand a loss of power.

Christophere Scanzera, vice president and CIO at Atlanticare adds that IT staff communication and responsiveness across the health system was key to keeping things up-and-running.

“We have an IT command center that we opened up, staffed with about a dozen people, and basically the responsibility there is to monitor and respond to any system-related outages,” he says. “We had staff in each of the campuses both from a user standpoint and from a technical support standpoint in the event there were any outages that need to be addressed.”

Scanzera says that, due to the diligence of staff, there was no interruption of service in 98 of the 100 sites he is responsible for. In the data center, he mentions there was power outage from Monday into Tuesday, but no interruption of service occurred.

“To only to have had to wait 24 or 48 hours to get the last two [sites] back online, given what you see out there in terms of the devastation, I think we’re very fortunate,” says Scanzera.

Atlanticare’s clinical information system, patient financial management system and all the administrative systems were uninterrupted at all points during the storm, he adds. When asked about whether or not health information exchange is important in a crisis like this, Scanzera says, “Yes and no. When you’re in the middle of a storm, and you’re treating patients emergently, to have access to the information, yes, would be helpful, but really quite frankly, the focus is on treating the patients and moving them through in that emergent situation,” he says.

Officials at Philadelphia, Pa.-based Einstein Healthcare Network also cite staff preparation as a crucial element to survive the storm.

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If ever an industry were ready for disruption, it is the American health care industry. Americans spend about $7,600 a year per person on health care, one in two adults lives with a chronic disease and the average wait time to see a doctor in a metropolitan area is 20 days. Entrepreneurs have responded by starting health care technology companies that are changing the way we interact with the entire system.

They are also responding to an evolving model of health care, which will ultimately be focused more on outcomes than on services, and to the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records Incentive Program, which, in an effort to improve the coordination of care, gives providers financial incentives to adopt electronic health records and report how they use them. “We are about to see a fundamental transformation in the way care is delivered and the way patients are engaged with that care,” said Frank Moss, head of the New Media Medicine Group at the M.I.T. Media Lab. Here is a sampling of the innovative companies pushing that transformation.

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We had a very positive response to the webinar (Feb 8) "Overcoming Technological Challenges of Setting Up a Simulation Facility" by Michael Young, Technology Support Specialist, Tarleton State University, Texas and Mark Jarvis, Manager, Engineering, Education Management Solutions.

With any new building or retrofit project, the challenges of designing it to meet aesthetic and operational concerns are hard enough. But when you add the issues surrounding simulation technology and its requirements into the mix, the challenges can be overwhelming. The webinar presenters focused on strategies that will help simulation program decision-makers tackle these issues with more confidence and targeted outcomes.
 
There were so many questions, yet little time to answer them all. Here’s your chance to continue the conversation with Michael and Mark. Post your questions/comments here and get a response.

If you missed the webinar and would like a copy of slides and a link to the recorded webinar, click on the “Contact Us” tab at the top.

Whether it’s meaningful use or simply finding the right personnel, 2012 promises to be chock-full of tricky IT issues for physician practices. Bob Dean, vice president of technology at ChartLogic, gives us the top 10 challenges for physician practices in the new year. 

1. Choosing the right technology. According to Dean, physicians will face a significantly increased number of data reporting requirements in 2012 and 2013. "For practice leaders, the decision is not whether to purchase an EHR, but what type is right for their office," he said. “In addition to the technology, customer service will play a key role, since many small medical groups are unable to hire a full-time, or even part-time, IT staffer.” And when it comes to meaningful use requirements, Dean said providers should keep in mind they’ll have to collect vital signs during patient visits, in addition to nurses and medical assistants. “The surgeon will need to document his evaluation of the patient. So, surgeons should look for an EHR system that can speed up the data entry process through dictation or click minimization.” 

2. Finding skilled, affordable IT personnel. Studies have shown the demandfor consultants is at an all-time high, which is due in part to the rapid growth of the industry. “For example, the EHR market is projected to grow from $973 million in 2009 to $6.5 billion in 2012,” said Dean. A report from CHIME also found IT staffing shortages were putting projects at risk, and it noted a project shortage of 50,000 qualified IT personnel in the next two years. "The CHIME survey found that out of CIOs looking for personnel, 71 percent said they had open positions in clinical software implementation and support," said Dean.  So what’s being done to combat the issue? "On the positive side, the federal Office for the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has initiated four IT workforce development programs," said Dean.

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