Ashtabula County Medical Center | ACMC Pulse | Winter 2018

ACMC Pulse  • acmchealth.org 5 good not so good getting worse seriously ill MY DOCTOR VISIT checklist This checklist can help you communicate better with your doctor. Fill it out and take it with you to your appointment. You might also use it to prepare for calls to your doctor’s office about your care. The reason for my visit I am most concerned about _________________________. What the doctor needs to know I have these new or worsening symptoms: _________________________________________________. My health has changed recently (taking new medications, recovering from surgery, etc.): _________________________________________________. I have these limitations (poor vision, difficulty walking, memory problems, etc.): _________________________________________________. Your health/treatment Questions to ask Do you have any follow-up instructions for me? Can I get those in writing? When will I get the test results from my visit? When should I schedule my next appointment? When should I expect to see improvement? If there is no improvement, what should I do? How should I contact you if I have questions after this visit? Staying well Questions to ask Does my family health history raise my risk for any health problems? What vaccines, screenings or medical tests do I need? What are some steps you think I should take to stay healthy? I feel Available online! Get extra copies of this checklist at acmchealth.org/drchecklist . Need emergency care? Call 911. The tiles are color-coded green, blue, yellow or red. Green means the patient’s vital signs are within normal range. Red shows patients at the most risk for deterioration. A nurse can escalate the VitalScout SM code (for example, from green to yellow) if additional health concerns are observed that may not be reflected in the vital signs. However, a new set of vital signs must be taken and entered manually to permit the color code to be lowered (for example, from red to yellow). VitalScout SM helps nurses monitor their patients VitalScout SM was created through a collaborative effort between Medina Hospital nurses and Cleveland Clinic Clinical Solutions Center. A pilot project was successfully completed at both Medina and Hillcrest, and then the program rolled out to every hospital in the Cleveland Clinic system. “Because VitalScout SM was created by a nurse, it provides information nurses need about our patients’ conditions,” said Jacquelyn DiFiore, RN, MSN, MHA, NEA-BC, ACMC Chief Nursing Officer. “But it also has other components that help nurses prioritize care, increase efficiency, improve communication with physicians and stay focused when rounding on their patients.” For example, the nurse or other caregiver can click on the tile to see additional, more detailed information about a patient without opening the full electronic health record. Real-time patient vitals enable faster care ACMC’s Hospitalist Program Coordinator Kimberly Plants, RN, BSN, saw the efficiency of the program not long after it became operational on Aug. 7. She noticed that a patient’s condition changed from yellow to red and notified a hospitalist about the condition change. “The doctor was walking into the room even before being called for assistance,” Plants said. “VitalScout SM gives nurses and other caregivers the information they need at a glance and keeps them proactive in our patients’ care.” She added that nurses love the new software program because it allows them to monitor patients between rounding visits. It also gives them countdown timers as to when they need to return to recheck a patient’s vital signs.