Transforming Healthcare Experience: Utilizing Digital Door Signs to increase efficiency and satisfaction

Abstract

Since 2023, the 24-bed Innovation unit at Mayo Clinic admitted 1584 patients. Patient care signage placed outside clinical rooms plays a critical role in patient and staff safety by displaying crucial information regarding isolations, precautions and care considerations. Currently, clinical staff manually review and update these signs, spending up to 65 minutes reviewing and walking over 400 feet each time. This process is required to be repeated at least every 4 hours due to changes in care plans, patient turnover and staffing, adding significantly to their workload.To address this issue, a decision was made to implement digital door signs. A project team was formed and used the DMAIC framework to integrate this technology with the EHR and in unit workflows with a strategy to operationalize. This involved a current state assessment to capture workflows and analyze tasks, followed by a gap analysis.Post-implementation analysis showed the digital door sign saves up to 60% of care team staff time per shift and reduce instances of missed signage placements by 40%. Staff surveys indicated that over 80% of members utilized the digital door sign, with more than 60% expressing satisfaction with the features and 80% approving of their future use.This successful implementation demonstrated the potential to optimize operations by saving time, reducing errors, and increasing staff satisfaction. This initiative also paves the way for utilizing this technology across Mayo Clinic enterprise locations and within the broader healthcare industry, showcasing a significant step towards modernizing hospital operations and improving overall efficiency.