At the start of each day or shift, clinical teams meet to talk about all that has gone on in their unit over the last 24 hours. These meetings are vital to ensure that information flows freely to support the delivery of safe, quality care. In the era of COVID-19, huddles also include social distancing and Infection Prevention and Control best practices. But is there a better way to enhance these meetings and bring them into the 21st Century?
To reimagine the daily huddle, William Osler Health System (Osler) developed and launched iHuddle, an innovative new tool built by Osler's own Information, Intelligence and Technical Innovation team using electronic screens on the units to display updated critical information, metrics, and scripts to facilitate best-practice team meetings.
"Our frontline clinical teams huddle for at least 10-15 minutes each day," explains Tony Raso, Osler's Associate Vice President, Clinical Practice and Quality. "These brief daily sessions are a chance for staff to review what's happening in their units and across our organization, discuss safety, troubleshoot issues and offer solutions." And while huddles have always been essential touchpoints in a busy day, "we knew we could do better," he says. "Not only did we want to share important information, we also wanted to make our huddles as collaborative and interactive as possible, with the greatest possible opportunity for a 'two way' exchange of information."
More effective than traditional paper or whiteboard systems, electronic "huddle boards" are the perfect example of shifting a common concept into an electronic network – and reaping big results. In fact, Raso describes the effect as transformational in terms of supporting quality. "The more effectively we can capture feedback, the more efficiently we can harness and spread solutions and sustain optimum practices," he says.
Most recently, the huddle boards have also supported the dissemination of COVID-19 information, including safety data, hospital updates and details about Osler's vaccine implementation plan. COVID messaging is supported by an interprofessional group of subject matter experts and shared in a dedicated spotlight area on the boards, making it easy to find the most pertinent information.
Leveraging Technology to Engage Staff, Physicians, Volunteers, Patients and Families
Managers of teams identified for the initial implementation phase are provided with huddle boards preloaded with organizational and unit-level messages aligned with Osler's strategic directions and enablers. They use the boards and the messages within them to prompt conversations about how the teams' efforts support Osler's overarching goals, and vice versa.
While formal measurement of the initiative is still underway, "there are many benefits to this approach," Raso notes. Patients and families present during huddles find the boards a powerful reminder of Osler's commitment to quality and safety, and "anecdotally, we know staff are more engaged and find it easier to see themselves in the big picture," Raso says. "Managers feel more confident bringing our strategy to life, and organizational messages reach teams in a more consistent manner."
Manager Samantha Lawrence enthusiastically agrees. "It's an excellent initiative," she says. "The board supports me as a manager in having a hands-on, visual communication with staff regarding their day-to-day work. It's a tremendously helpful tool."
Most importantly, the boards facilitate broader troubleshooting in real time. The iHuddle application has over 20 unit-specific metrics that automatically populate the boards to provide teams with the most up-to-date information about how their unit is performing, and allow for improvement ideas to be added directly to the board.
"Our staff are skilled at identifying issues and proposing solutions," Raso says. "The huddle board technology allows us to efficiently and effectively understand, capture and escalate data, to facilitate greater responsiveness and timely information-sharing across our organization." In just the three months the huddle boards have been live, over 20 staff suggestions to improve local or unit processes have also been implemented.
Pending the results of a more formal evaluation, Osler plans to continue to roll out huddle boards throughout the organization. "While the early data is promising, we're looking for measurable increases in both staff and patient satisfaction as well as quality of care," Raso notes.