Workload reduction through automated documentation in intensive and intermediate care – a monocentric observational study

A.N. Flinspach, J.M. Leimgruber, V. Neef, K. Zacharowski, F.J. Raimann

Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital, Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy, Germany. flinspach@med.uni-frankfurt.de

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• Anesthesiology

OBJECTIVE: The global coronavirus pandemic has placed an unprecedented and enormous burden on health systems worldwide. In addition to a shortage of resources, nurses were also confronted with high levels of sick leave and an increasing exodus from the profession. Automating documentation obligations is an effective way of reducing the burden on the workplace.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was conducted at a tertiary university hospital. The time required for the manual documentation of administered medication and dose changes of syringe and infusion pumps was recorded using the patient data management system (PDMS) representing all intensive and intermediate care wards (n = 6). Subsequently, all medication administration – grouped into five classes – was evaluated from January 1st, 2019, until December 31st, 2022.

RESULTS: A total of 1,373,340 drug applications were studied, treating 32,499 patients. Data were obtained from ICUs (68%) and IMC wards (32%). This corresponds to an overall time of 2,901 ± 233 hours per year. Based on publicly known national rates for intensive care nurses, an annual financial expenditure of approximately 83,300 € (~ USD 89,300) per year was estimated.

CONCLUSIONS: A non-negligible part of the daily working time in the medical sector is spent on documentation duties. This aggravates the high workload, which has increased in recent years. Automated documentation systems can lead to considerable relief and the possibility of focusing primarily on the patient and on other core competencies and activities. This is even more important, as available staff will be a key resource in patient care for the foreseeable future.

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