Discussion 8.1: Indicators of Innovation

Discussion 8.1: Indicators of Innovation

Two examples of significant innovations that could be made in the emergency department that I currently work in include having access to point of care troponin lab values and triaging of ambulances/ambulance services. The first innovation that I mentioned involves having access in the emergency department to a machine that can give us lab values within a few moments, rather than having to send the tubes of blood to the lab and wait for them to result. We have a few lab values that we have access to running point of care testing in the ER setting, but not troponin. Since a troponin is a common cardiac marker that we routinely draw in the emergency department setting, it would be a great tool to have point of care access to this lab value on a routine basis. The second innovation that I mentioned involves triaging of ambulance services. This involves a triage nurse seeing an ambulance patient, if they are alert, responsive, and oriented, triaging them, and then if fitting, they sit in the waiting room and wait for a room to become available. Another great innovation would be the triaging of ambulance services. If a medic responds to a call and determines that this patient is not emergent, has access to transportation to seek help for their complaint, and is alert, responsive, and oriented, then they would not be an emergent transfer.

There are many factors driving the need for these innovations. COVID-19 and staffing shortages have put a strain on our healthcare system, as everyone here knows, and especially in emergency departments. Having access to important lab values at the tips of your fingers in only a moment’s time can help a nurse provide better care to patients in the department. Patients who are in a true emergency situation having access to an ambulance when needed is also a priority, rather than waiting an unnecessary amount of time because of non urgent calls busying the system.

According to Drucker, there are numerous indicators that can drive innovation. The main indicator driving the need for point of care troponin lab values in the emergency department setting involves failure and a change in process needs. I cannot name the amount of times that I send lab work to the lab to be run and they are either lost, hemolyzed, or something happens in the process where the lab values never result in the computer. This causes delayed treatment for patients when their lab values do not result in a timely manner. When I run a point of care lab value, I am able to do the test myself, so I know what the result is, that the lab has been completed, and am able to communicate this result to the provider. The main indicator driving the need for triaging of ambulance services involves addressing a change in process needs and changes in perception.

The common perception for many of the local community is that if they do not want to wait in the waiting room of the emergency department, then they will just go home and call an ambulance so that they will get put back in a room right away. This is a huge perception that has only gotten worse due the current pandemic and stressors on healthcare systems. This perception needs to be addressed and corrected. When a non urgent patient comes in through an ambulance, they need to be triaged and put into the waiting room if deemed necessary by the triage nurse. If every non urgent patient who calls an ambulance has to wait for a period of time in the waiting room, just as if they would have walked through the front door with the same complaint, then we can help to adjust this process change and perception change. In the department I currently work in, ambulance patients often get assigned a room right away and then are triaged by the nurse that is assigned to that room. Sometimes these ambulance patients are not urgent by any means or have no real complaint and could easily be triaged and wait in the waiting room along with everyone else. Overall, I think that both of these innovations could help change the care that I can provide as an emergency department nurse to my patients.

The lecture mainly involved the discussion on different indicators of innovation considered in healthcare management. These indicators are often used to signal the appropriate approaches that can be undertaken to ensure that healthcare organizations remain relevant in the dynamic healthcare industry. Process needs, demographic changes, shifts in perceptions, mood, and meaning are some of the examples of indicators of innovations covered in the lecture (Waxman & Barter, 2018). Any process needs in a healthcare organization could trigger innovations or changes geared toward improving different processes. On the other hand, the demographic shift may determine approaches or processes that could lead to innovative thinking.

Chapter 14 of the lecture notes discusses important aspects of entrepreneurship and how it can foster in