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Background: Clinical Trial Recruitment Support Systems can booster patient inclusion of clinical trials by automatically analyzing eligibility criteria based on electronic health records. However, missing interoperability has hindered introduction of those systems on a broader scale. Purpose(s): Our aim was to develop a recruitment support system based on FHIR R4 and evaluate its usage and features in a cardiology department. Methods/Implementation: Clinical conditions, anamnesis, examinations, allergies, medication, laboratory data and echocardiography results were imported as FHIR resources. Trial study nurses and physicians were enabled to add new and edit trial information and input inclusion and exclusion criteria using a web-browser user interface in the hospital intranet. All information were recorded on the server side as the FHIR resources ResearchStudy and Group . Eligibility criteria linked by the logical operation OR were represented by using multiple FHIR Group resources for enrollment. On the client side, eligibility criteria were transformed to a tree-like structure (see Figure 1). Upon user demand, all hospitalized and ambulatory patients in the cardiology department were instantly screened for trial eligibility using the FHIR eligibility criteria on the existing patients' FHIR resources. Furthermore, study personal was able to manually edit trial status (i.e. ineligible, on-study, ..) of patients, which was implemented using the FHIR resource ResearchSubject . Result(s): This implementation of a CTRSS based on FHIR R4 was evaluated in clinical practice: Beginning from 1st April 2021 the application was used as an additional patient screening tool for the four trials CLOSUREAF, FAIR-HF2, SPRIRIT-HF and TORCH-PLUS of the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research. As the COVID-19 pandemic is prohibiting any proper comparison of patient inclusion rates, efficacy of the recruitment support system was tested by comparing the numbers of patients identified by the recruitment support system and enrolled in a trial to the actual number of enrolled patients irrespective of the screening method from 1st April 2021 to 23rd November 2021. The system was able to identify 52 of 55 patients included in those four clinical trials. Conclusion(s): Use of FHIR for defining eligibility criteria of clinical trials may facilitate interoperability and allow automatic screening for eligible patients at multiple sites of different healthcare providers in the future. Upcoming changes in FHIR should allow easier description of OR -linked eligibility criteria. (Figure Presented).
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Historically, information such as protocols and treatment pathways from specialist teams were shared with ward staff in paper format which proved cumbersome and difficult to update. Improvements were made with the addition of an intranet site, where protocols could be stored and accessed by clinical staff, however it was recognised that navigating the intranet site was not always straightforward and took up precious nursing time. The tissue viability team at the Royal United Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (RUH) considered how such information might be made more readily available to clinicians. Inspired by widespread increased use of QR codes in public places during the COVID-19 pandemic, the team produced a poster containing multiple QR codes, enabling clinical staff to have instant access to wound care protocols as soon as the information was needed.Copyright © 2023, OmniaMed Communications Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Aims Paediatrics as a specialty requires the interprofessional team to maintain competence and confidence in a variety of clinical skills and procedures. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in reduced accessibility to teaching courses and also observation of clinical skills and procedures. Previous studies have suggested that the quality of content of freely available online clinical skills videos are variable.1 Authors found a lack of a trustworthy source for instructional videos for paediatric clinical skills and procedures. The project aimed to create an accessible online series of videos to enable the paediatric interprofessional team to revise important clinical skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A list of essential paediatrics clinical skills was collated, through discussion with paediatric medical and nursing staff, in line with the RCPCH curriculum. Using freely available video editing software and mobile smart phones, instructional videos were recorded and edited. The videos were then peer-reviewed by paediatric consultants and senior nurses in order to ensure accuracy of information. The videos were then uploaded onto the Health Board's medical education website, using Vimeo as a platform, unto a webpage entitled 'The Paediatric Toolkit'. The toolkit was freely accessible outwith the local intranet and using Vimeo as a host ensured the videos were of high quality and were easily watched on a smartphone. Results This project has resulted in the projection of fourteen instructional videos of between 2 minutes and 13 minutes in length which are freely available online for use by the paediatric interprofessional team. (figure 1, figure 2.) The project has demonstrated that a high-quality revision resource can be created using smartphones/iPads to record and produce instructional videos. It is anticipated that paediatric staff will use the resource as a revision aid for 'just-in-time'2 revision of clinical skills/procedures they may have not undertaken for a period of time. Additionally, new trainees, staff and students are directed to the resource as an introduction to paediatric clinical skills prior to exposure in clinical practice. The project has been praised by nurses and doctors at varying stages of experience. Formal evaluation of the Paediatric Toolkit is currently ongoing via an online survey. Unanswered questions include the frequency to which the resource is currently being accessed and if the resource has improved competence or confidence in paediatric clinical skills. Challenges experienced with this project included the timeconsuming nature of video editing and the frequency with which videos may need updated in line with most recent clinical guidelines. Conclusion This online resource has provided a method for consolidation of clinical skills away from the clinical environment. Theory cannot replace real life experience however there may be an important role for just-in-time revision aids in every day paediatric practice.
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Wellbeing and Mental Health initiatives put in place during the pandemic. The emotional and psychological pressures of working within hospice care are well documented, however, the addition of a global pandemic plunged hospice workforces into an unknown and unchartered way of working. Suddenly the switch from dealing with the everyday death and dying of patients, changed to having staff 's own mortality, fear and anxiety thrust into reality. Unforeseen challenges within the workplace led to many staff experiencing emotions and anxieties that could not have been predicted. The quick succession of events that changed everyday practice at the beginning of the pandemic gave rise to a number of initiatives implemented to support staff mental health and wellbeing. These have included:•Wobble room - a designated safe place for staff to visit and relax in.•Wobble room booklet for those working offsite.•Gifts of meals and drinks from local companies.•Mindfulness and relaxation.•Self-help videos. The number of Mental Health First Aiders and freedom to speak up guardians has been increased across the workforce. In addition to this, staff were given information and contact details for a multitude of both national and local support avenues such as the Samaritans, NHS, Here for you and MIND, enabling support virtually through websites, webinars, online training and apps. Within the hospice a focus on wellbeing was central to communications on the workplace intranet. This then resulted in the sign up of 15 new workplace health champions who will support ongoing activities throughout the year. The initiatives that have proved successful will continue to be offered and available to staff as we transition away from COVID-19 and maintain a focus on staff wellbeing within the organisation.
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Background In March 2020, staff began dealing with the effects of COVID-19. When the complementary therapy team returned from furlough, they created a new programme of support for patients, carers and staff, working remotely and social distanced as hands-on treatments were put on hold. Aims To use the hospice complementary therapists' skills and experience to support staff and strengthen the resilience of healthcare workers. To provide much needed support to patients and carers to improve their mental health and wellbeing through this challenging time. Methods Access to one-to-one consultations with an Ayrshire Hospice complementary therapist, remotely via video call or telephone and face-to-face where safe to do so.•Bespoke aromatherapy products to support wellbeing delivered inhouse and to homes.•Relaxation and self-management advice for staff, patients and carers.•A comfortable space in which to relax and recharge and provide socially distanced treatments - such as Reiki, yoga, qi gong, mindfulness.•Wellbeing group sessions for staff x weekly online: Massage self-treatment, qi gong, relaxation, mindfulness, breathwork, yoga.•Regular relaxation sessions for patients and carers on new virtual day services.•Staff access to recorded wellbeing sessions on the intranet.•Evaluation developed - Identification of key issues experienced by staff Outcomes•Support service to staff evaluated extremely well - evidence of feeling supported and understood, improved sleep, stress reduction.•Self-help tools given to empower people to manage their own wellbeing moving forward.•Staff have continued access to weekly wellbeing sessions on the intranet.•Future plans to share the library of our recorded wellbeing sessions with outside agencies such as local council and prison, for a small cost and use for fundraising.•Ability to reach patients and carers to support them without the need to travel to the hospice.•Blended approach to delivering complementary therapy service to reach more people.
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Education is increasingly being accessed digitally, as demonstrated by the success of e-Learning for Healthcare or e-LfH, a health education England programme developed in partnership with the NHS and professional bodies1. Within digital learning, e-learning is a popular medium as it offers users an opportunity to learn at one’s own pace, at a convenient time and place, revisiting as often as required, giving flexibility, and freedom to continue a professional development journey. A plan was therefore formed to develop e-learning to provide important support for enteral tube feeding for care home staff in a simple, convenient, and easily accessible format. Before development of the e-learning, qualitative and quantitative research was undertaken with key stakeholders to assess the acceptability of e-learning for care home staff in the field of enteral tube feeding. Following launch of the e-learning, views and feedback were analysed. Qualitative interviews were conducted with six care home managers across the UK to understand the challenges faced in providing education on enteral tube feeding for care home staff. Difficulties identified included: releasing staff from day-to-day activities;high turn-over of staff resulting in frequent training required for new employees;access to workplace digital devices, and;staff unable to complete their full duties until training was completed and documented. An online survey was conducted to gain quantitative information from an enteral tube feed companies’ homecare nurse team to evaluate the concept of online e-learning for care home staff. 13 homecare nurses responded, (approx. 10%) and 80% felt online training would be valuable for care home staff. Using these learnings an enteral tube feeding e-learning course was developed by the company’s homecare nurse team consisting of six, short interactive modules. Six Dietitians across the UK in both acute and community settings were consulted on the content, which they reviewed and refined ensuring a balanced view of practices and procedures were included. COVID-19 accelerated the requirement for online learning as face-to-face activity and care home access was restricted and the modules were launched earlier than planned in March 2020. A simple registration process granted access to the modules through a variety of electronic devices such as tablets and laptops. Between March 2020 to July 2021, 5,152 individuals registered and completed at least one module, with 3,661 (71%) completing the introductory course and the first 3 modules. Several NHS Trusts have added the e-learning link to their intranet sites as mandatory training for new starters. Feedback has been positive: “E-learning is going down a treat at the moment”;“11 of my staff completed the training. We found it really useful, the system was easy to navigate, gave us information that we didn’t know and helped us to understand the different types of feeding systems available. I would recommend this training as we all felt it gave us more confidence in supporting a person using a feeding system”. The high uptake of the e-learning and positive feedback demonstrate that these e-learning modules are a popular and acceptable form of education for care home staff and are suitable to be used across a variety of settings. The initial research helped to ensure that the e-learning modules which were developed, fully met the needs of care home staff and therefore provide important support in a simple, convenient, and easily accessible format. References 1. e-Learning for Healthcare.
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Background: The current COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the need for blood bank organizations to be resilient in times of crises;resilience is the capability to anticipate, cope and adapt during uncertain times to survive and foster future success. In organizational literature, Duchek describes organizational resilience as both a process comprising of three stages (anticipation, coping and adaptation) built upon the foundation of an organization's inward capabilities and routines. At Sanquin-known as both the Dutch national blood bank and a multidivisional expertise organization--we have done previous work on 'anticipation' of this pandemic. Aims: Building upon previous work, we examine how Sanquin has 'coped' during the pandemic by evaluating the general and specific impacts upon its resources, communication, collaborations, and monitoring and feedback. Furthermore, we assess how it has 'adapted' by reflecting upon organizational changes and lessons learned and how these contribute towards organizational resilience for Sanquin's future. Methods: We adapted Duchek's organizational resilience framework and Okumnus' strategy implementation framework to guide our methodology. We used a three-step qualitative approach: (I) A document analysis of 150+ Intranet, Internet, and internal Sanquin reports;(II) 31 semi-structured interviews with Sanquin employees, and (III) Four feedback sessions with Sanquin employees. MAXQDA 2020 was used to conduct inductive and deductive thematic analyses of the interviews while Qualtrics XM was used to conduct document analyses. Results: Sanquin 'coped' well during the pandemic as employees accepted the situation and readily catalysed various initiatives. In general, the pandemic created a unified platform and experimental culture whilst the impact on the employees were both positive (e.g., enormous creativity) and negative (e.g., constant intensity). With regards to resources, the pandemic resulted in increased funding but exposed limited time, systems, equipment, and trained personnel. Intensified internal and external communications occurred using existing and new modes. Many external collaborations were initiated, both nationally and internationally. Many internal collaborations were initiated, using improvisational techniques whilst overcoming differences. However, the pandemic overlapped with organizational restructuring and leadership changes, which brought significant effects and changes upon the organization. Hence, Sanquin 'adapted' not only to the pandemic but to these other changes as well. Overall, lessons learned from the pandemic were found under each category of resources, communication and collaboration, and included the need for continual unified direction, improvements in Sanquin's culture, and how to continue collaborating well. Summary/Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has been a window of opportunity for Sanquin to publicly showcase how it can 'cope' well during crises and take steps towards 'adaptation'. However, the pandemic itself did not result in any structural organizational changes. More time is required for 'lessons learned' to be established whilst efforts to continue the positive momentum seen within communication and collaborations are needed. Future research can focus on how to further enhance adaptation capabilities. Other blood banks can use a similar methodology to assess its organizational resilience capabilities to adapt to the current pandemic and be prepared for future uncertainties.
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Objective: Main objective: to provide current and independent information on drugs (information pills) to primary care health professionals. Secondary objective: to know the repercussion of the publication of informative pills among health professionals. Material and/or methods: • Pharmacists and pharmacologists from the Nord Metropolitan Primary Care Directorate (DAP MN) prepare up-to-date information related to drugs and vaccines, denominated informative pills. Main characteristics: specific messages, short length (1-2 slides), in power point format, with visual content. • Aimed at family doctors, paediatricians and nurses. • Topics: information on medications, safety and use. • Publication: approximately every 2 weeks on the DAP MN intranet, with advice from the DAP MN Communication Unit. Its publication is reported by corporate mail. • Variables: number of pills published, visits per pill, recipients and types. Results: • From December 2020 to October 2021, 20 informational pills have been published. • The recipients of the pills have been medical professionals (9), health professionals in general (6), medicine and nursing (3) and paediatrics (2). • Most of the pills have been about drug use (11), followed by safety issues (5) and information (4). The most common topic has been the vaccine against Covid-19 (7). • 11,731 visits have been received. The most visited pills have been the following: 1. Should antibiotics be prescribed for COVID-19? 914 visits. 2. Questions and Answers: COVID-19 Vaccine: 694 Visits. 3. What do you know about the triple whammy? 569 visits. Conclusions: • Specific current issues on drugs can be addressed quickly and through new formats. • The advantages of the pills are asynchrony (each professional reads the pill whenever he wants) and conciseness. • A problem (the pandemic) becomes an opportunity (the pills).
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Keeping up the attendance record with everyday exercises is a difficult task. The conventional method of marking staff attendance is by tapping their ID card and then using fingerprint scanner. But due to COVID-19 pandemic the attendance system of using fingerprint scanner is stalled and currently not in use. The following system depends on face recognition and intranet connectivity to keep up attendance record of facilities and staff. The paper discusses the attendance marking system that is passive (no direct contact with the scanner or sensor) and restricting the users within certain network. The main goal of this system is divided in two steps, in initial step face is snare from the front camera of the smart phone and it is then recognized in the picture and in the second step these distinguished appearances and features are contrasted with stored information in data set for confirmation. © 2021 The authors and IOS Press.
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As the societal impacts of COVID-19 progress, so do the workplace and business challenges the pandemic has brought on. It is now crucial to conduct user testing to measure and optimize the usability of corporate Intranets under pandemic conditions. This paper suggests and validates an integrated approach for intranet remote usability evaluation validated by user testing in a work-from-home context during a pandemic. The main contribution of the current research is the discovery of some user preferences specific to work-from-home workers during a pandemic not previously addressed in the literature on intranets.
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Aim To define COVID toes and fingers in paediatrics, and to explain the aetiology, the assessment and investigation management, the diagnosis, the clinical presentation and the care management including the use of oral nifedipine in this newly found disease during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we will illustrate the process using the multi-disciplinary approach to prepare the Paediatric COVID toes guideline in our Trust, and to cite some examples of the related patient cases seen in our hospital as well as to summarise the total number of patient cases seen to date. Method To carry out a literature search to find out the latest related articles and clinical studies, and to summarise the findings to prepare for the drafting of the clinical guideline. This guideline was initially prepared by the medical team and was then reviewed using multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach including the paediatric pharmacists and the consultation from the tertiary paediatric centre. We also summarised the number of paediatric patient cases that were seen in our Trust and categorised them into different age groups, ethics background, and referral systems. Results A number of related articles were found after the literature search. The first draft of the Paediatric COVID-toes guideline was prepared in March 2021 and it was then reviewed by the MDT in the Paediatric Clinical Guideline Group of our Trust. The paediatric pharmacist expressed her comments including the drug of choice such as oral nifedipine, the dosages below and above 2 years of age, the evidence to support the dosage recommendations, the different formulations available in the market for oral nifedipine such as oral suspension, capsule, tablet and modified-released (MR) tablet, recommended effective method for oral administration, side effects profile, monitoring such as blood pressure, patient counselling and education, and provision of patient leaflet and video-link to aid patient compliance. Conclusion The final version of the Paediatric COVID toes guideline was prepared by the multi-disciplinary team in July, 2021, and it was uploaded in the Trust intranet in August 2021. In view of the literature search, there is limited evidence to support the use of oral nifedipine under 2 years of age for this indication. In our guideline, we recommend the dose of nifedipine to be 2.5-10 mg 2-4 times a day for children age 2 to 17 years old, starting with low doses at night and increase gradually by closely monitoring blood pressure and other side effects. The use of oral nifedipine is unlicensed for this indication in children. In our guideline, we recommend the use of oral MR nifedipine tablet after the consultation with the tertiary centre. Oral suspension is not routinely used. During counselling session, the pharmacist will advise the parent/carer to crush and dissolve the MR tablet in water and give appropriate dose accordingly. To date, 15 patients diagnosed with this disease were seen in our clinic. They are mainly referred to the clinic via the Accident and Emergency Department. The patient ages are all above 8 years old and they are mainly of Asian ethical background.
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Introduction: Medical record keeping is a fundamental part of the GMC's Good Medical Practice [1,2]. Surgeons must ensure accurate, comprehensive, and legible records are maintained [3]. An operation note is essential to ensure continuity of care between operating team and other colleagues and provides a medicolegal record of a patient's care [4]. Handover errors have been implicated in as many as 80% of sentinel events [5], highlighting the importance of ensuring accurate record keeping. Method: We aimed to assess compliance of surgical operation notes against the Royal College of Surgeons guidance and identified areas for improvement. 48 operation notes were reviewed at a district general hospital in the west midlands over two weeks. Operation notes on standard intranet proforma and custom operation notes were compared to determine better compliance. Results: We identified areas of most compliance vs areas of least compliance. Most and least compliant outcomes are listed below: • Name of operation, operative findings, post-operative instructions, and incision type - 100%. • Date of operation and name of operating surgeon - 98% time. • Operating assistant -96%. • Post-operative VTE plan intraoperative antibiotic use - 73% • Time of operation and details of tissue removed - 69% • Postoperative complications - 7% Conclusions: Good compliance was noted. Using the proforma on the intranet resulted in higher compliance than custom notes (84% vs 53% respectively). Adding a complications section to standard proforma can increase compliance. This audit was performed during COVID-19 restrictions therefore investigated emergency operation notes only which limited the audit.
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Background. Compliance with influenza immunization in HCW remains a global challenge, uptake in the Middle East has been reported at 24.7% due to limited access and awareness (1). We aim to report a successful campaign by establishing a multidisciplinary Flu Team during ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. A multidisciplinary Flu team taskforce was assembled representing all stakeholders to include: Occupational Health, Nursing, Operations, Infomatics, Pharmacists and Administrative staff in July 2020. A pivot was made to switch location from previous year visits to an established vaccine center (ballroom) to a mobile campaign. From July to November 1st, the team met on a regular basis with 90 stakeholders to launch and monitor the ongoing immunizations. Electronic medical record (EPIC) tools such as One Click and Express Lane facilitated nursing check-in, documentation and immunization at one stop and eliminated previously used registration by other staff. EPIC Clarity feature facilitated reporting of compliance for managers and leadership. Ongoing education and awareness of immunization were ongoing through various platforms of communication such as huddles, phone screens, elevators, lounges, virtual grand rounds and corporate intranet communication and website videos. Results. Of the 3578 healthcare workers, 3,399 were immunized (95%) from September 2020 until the end of October 2020. There were 86 (2.4%) employees exempted during this period due to medical reasons or excused leaves ( e.g military, maternity), Figure 1. Compliance differed among functions, 95.86% physicians, 97.2% clinical and nursing, 92% academics, 94.96% finance, 91.15% human resources, 92.1% infomatics, 60% legal, 80.6% operations. Only 93 (2.6%) were non-compliant. Employee Flu Immunization Hospital Overall Compliance in 2020 Compliance by Function in 2020 Conclusion. Influenza illness adds an additional burden to the healthcare workforce during COVID-19. A multidisciplinary and collaborative team of teams approach delivered higher compliance for flu immunization than reported in the Middle East and enhanced by the use of state of the art technology. Convenience, educational awareness, free and safe access supported further the compliance with vaccination. To our knowledge, our 2020 flu campaign is the first successful experience reported in the Middle East during the current pandemic.
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Background. In the setting of the global pandemic due to COVID-19, high-risk patients with mild to moderate disease were identified as a group who would benefit from COVID-19 monoclonal antibody (mAB) treatment to mitigate progression to severe disease or hospitalization. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) approved multiple COVID-19 mAB therapies with specific criteria for eligibility of candidates, documentation of discussion with patients, and reporting of all errors and serious adverse events. Methods. A cross discipline working group implemented a mAB clinic at complexity level 1a VA Medical Center in metropolitan Washington, D.C. through collaboration of personnel committed to patient care. The team successfully persuaded hospital leadership to provide space and leveraged technologies for rapid communication and dissemination of education. A stewardship driven medical center wide surveillance system rapidly identified outpatients for screening;primary care and ED providers were engaged through various electronic methods of education, including email, web-based team communication, intranet webpages and other electronic modalities. Within the EMR, an order panel was implemented to assure that the key requirements of the EUA were met and the provider was guided to the appropriate mAB, nursing, and PRN rescue medication orders. Results. Of over 17,000 COVID-PCR tests were performed at our medical center, 198 outpatients were screened and 16 received COVID-19 mAB infusions between January 2, 2021 to May 31, 2021. One patient experienced a reaction requiring the infusion to be stopped and supportive medications to be administered;there were no long-term sequalae reported as a result of this event. Conclusion. A multidisciplinary collaboration is well suited to implement innovative processes and policies for novel therapies in the middle of a pandemic. An agile workflow, regular communications between members of the workgroup, and commitment of institutional leadership helped facilitate the changes necessary to provide our patients the opportunity to receive potentially life-saving therapies.
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Background: The effects of Sars-CoV-2 were extensive and not only limited to diagnostics and therapeutic treatments. the organization of the oncology units had to change in order to face the emergency and guarantee the treatments despite the social distancing. During 2020 in most oncology units the approach to the patients changed, therefore we made a survey to evaluate these changes and the impact on the work overload. Methods: 1700 Oncologists were administered a Survey subdivided in 3 parts: personal data, work changes and modified NASA-Task Load Index survey (0 = low, 20 = high). Only 55 surveys were completed. Most of the participants in terms of digital define themselves as autonomous (78.2%) or advanced (18.2%), while only 3.6% as basic utent and no one as not capable of using digital devices (level zero). The standard equipment was a non-personal computer (60%), personal computer (43.6%), webcam (18.2%), laptop (27.3%);open intranet (54.5%), free WiFi (16.4%). No upgrade was indicated after the pandemy. The access to social networks was limited to Youtube (54.3%), Facebook and Linkedin (34,8%), Twitter (23.9%), Instagram (26.1%), no extended access was indicated after the pandemy. No bigger changes were indicated in first access visit (82.7%), re-evaluation visits (84.3%) or under therapy visits (827%);while follow up visits was suspended (26,4%), incurred in telemedicine (13.2%), carried out by phone (34%), by email (32.1%), by skype or similar (11.3%). No changes were found in the filling of ministerial forms (drug monitoring and ADR) but a reduction in the time dedicated to compilation was reported (9.6%-5.8%). The nasa TLX analysis shows: Temporal Demand (M= 13.4;SD= 4.74), Mental Demand (M= 13.0;SD= 5.22), and Effort (M = 13.1;SD = 4.99) were the highest rated workload subscales. Not to underestimate Frustration (M=12.3;SD=5.62), within the limits Physical Demand (M= 9,4;SD= 5,03) and Performance (M=9.9;SD= 5.17). Conclusions: The Impact of procedures on the medical personnel are underestimated and often considered irrelevant. The low participation can be explained with a lack of hope;technical equipment and medical softwares are not up to date. Future efforts will focus on digitalizating the users, in order to optimize the workload and the performance for an improved medical care.
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Objective: The purpose of an Employee Acupuncture Clinic is to provide additional support to our fellow Cook County Health (CCH) colleagues and coworkers on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare professionals impacted by high levels of risk, trauma, fatigue, mental and emotional stress, and possibly quarantined social isolation, could benefit from additional services offered to promote wellness, which may conceivably influence performance, stamina, and resilience. Description: Announcements for the clinic will be posted on the intranet Welcome page, as email blasts, and through Employee Health Services. The clinic will be staffed with CCH Attending Acupuncturists, and appointments will be at the Pain Management Center, Clinic B, from 3 PM - 7 PM. Healthcare insurance reimbursement for acupuncture is the CCH Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO plan. Discussion: Acupuncture is one of the safest interventions in medicine with a low occurrence of serious adverse events, 11 per 4,441,103 procedures, when performed by qualified acupuncturists. Research into acupuncture as a medical treatment has grown over the past 20 years, with over 13,000 studies conducted in 60 countries. Acupuncture treats a wide variety of conditions and has been recommended by both the Joint Commission and the ACGME as a non-pharmaceutical approach to pain management. The implementation of employee acupuncture clinics has previously been researched by the Mayo Clinic, and at Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Veterans Health Administration has incorporated the use of acupuncture for treating veterans with chronic pain and PTSD. Conclusion: An Employee Acupuncture Clinic would be supportive of our colleagues at CCH, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and thereafter. There is evidence-based support documenting the safety and efficacy of acupuncture. The employee BCBS PPO health plan covers acupuncture. And finally, healthcare providers could receive the additional care and support they require and deserve.