Healthcare values precision. Precision is an essential piece of all medicine, and the inclusion of the idea trickles down through the institutions that help administer care.
Environment of care (EOC) rounding is just one of the many healthcare operations that shows the industry’s dedication to high standards. As more organizations take this operation on and continue to improve the process, it’s critical that they keep a few principles in mind, ones that will create a more holistic and effective EOC rounding operation.
EOC Rounding Principles Checklist
Patient care is the number one priority, and that means taking care of the environment patients spend time in. Environment of care (EOC) rounds are regular inspections that ensure the areas of a facility patients frequent provide a safe environment.
Building a comprehensive checklist is a task that largely depends on the knowledge the author or authors have of the facility. But when those personnel do create that form and explore process improvements should bake the following items in.
- Streamlined Data Entry
Inspections, however painted, take time to complete. Process owners can ensure they get complete and honest results from surveys by streamlining the data entry process. Virtual forms are the best way to do this, as information can be captured through simple button inputs and preconfigured statements.
- Monitor Tasks and Outcomes
All surveys will find issues to resolve over time. Digital tools like Veoci help efficiently manage those tasks. Tasks can be assigned through survey submissions. Staff members can then be notified of the task in real time, allowing them to schedule their work and resolution of the issue. This system also creates transparency; the EOC rounding manager can see the status of outstanding items and leadership can get a quick overview of the state of care environments.
- Check-In, Follow Ups, and Reminders
Check-ins and follow-ups also play a key role in maintaining a safe care environment. Task assignments will rarely all fall into one person’s lap. Reminders keep tasks in front of the right eyes and prevent them from sinking into a pile of nice-to-haves. Again, digital systems are a boon for this part of the operation, seeing as a platform can send these important messages on an automated or scheduled basis.
- Results and Reporting
Metrics, at the end of each month, help provide an overview of the operations and the state of care environments throughout a facility. Combing through old papers or a disjointed system can make this task much more frustrating and time consuming; additionally, these methods also risk inaccurate data sneaking into reports. The personnel behind EOC rounding should explore the best ways to roll up data accurately and legibly. Dashboards on virtual platforms work well here as they can visually display key metrics for staff and relevant stakeholders, and any compliance related reports can be accessed with a few clicks.
EOC rounding is a large operation with a lot of corridors to navigate. A few principles make implementing and running this operation simpler and more efficient for any hospital or healthcare facility that works these ideas into process. Digital platforms quickly work these ideas into the operations, creating an efficient process without much struggle and a safe environment for staff to work and for patients to heal.
