Coverage List: a provider-patient database supporting advanced hospital information services

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Hospital Administration
• Clinical Decision Support

Background:

• Effective communication and patient assignment are critical in teaching hospitals.
• Current systems often lack automated, real-time tracking of resident-patient associations.
• This can lead to delays in care and communication breakdowns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement a provider-patient database system, Coverage List, to manage resident-patient associations in a teaching hospital.
• To enhance clinical workflows by ensuring accurate and timely linkage between patients and their responsible residents.
• To support decision-support applications and improve communication for nursing staff.

Main Methods:

• Developed a database system, Coverage List, to automatically link inpatients to residents upon admission.
• Implemented dynamic updates to reflect changes in resident coverage (e.g., rotations, illness, on-call schedules).
• Integrated the system with decision-support tools and communication platforms for nurses and physicians.

Main Results:

• Established automatic and dynamic association between house staff and inpatients.
• Enabled direct transmission of clinical events to the responsible resident.
• Provided accurate patient responsibility information for sign-out and patient review systems.
• Facilitated efficient nurse-physician communication regarding patient care.
• Streamlined physician scheduling and paging functionalities.

Conclusions:

• Coverage List effectively maintains real-time provider-patient associations in a teaching hospital setting.
• The system enhances clinical practice by improving communication, decision support, and workflow efficiency.
• This database solution offers significant value to clinical programs and hospital operations.