One of the biggest problems in using a long term care EHR is interdisciplinary communication. We know, because long-term care leaders and caregivers told us in our monthly user groups that electronic documentation must be effortless and systematic to help staff avoid disrupting its workflow. Many of our users also spoke about how time-consuming personalized preference charting is, which is further complicated by high caregiver-to-patient ratios.
Our electronic Kardex system, which is included in our base package, greatly enhances the documentation process and makes charting easier than ever. Nurses no longer have to navigate back and forth between pages to find information or go into each resident’s room to update paper documentation to communicate to the CNAs. This saves time and also ensures that direct care staff remain alert to the most current care guidance for residents.
Kardex Features
An electronic Kardex is an interdisciplinary communication tool that gives a complete picture of a resident’s story from code status, language, interventions, continence, personal eating and sleeping preferences to the assistance they require from nurses and aides. Such information can now be easily updated to make sure the summary is current on the electronic Kardex as opposed to on an outdated (and often illegible) printed sheet of paper. Kardex even allows for the identification of more important information vs less important information. This includes alert messaging to notify users of resident-specific information about care guidance with a documented acknowledgment that the care information was reviewed.
- A Convenient Summary Screen
With the built-in Quicklinks tabs at the top of the screen, clinical staff can directly access the Kardex summary screen by clicking on the Kardex button. There they can view the most important resident information on a single page, such as:
- Code status
- ADLs
- Dietary restrictions
- Meal preferences
- Fluid restrictions
- Liquids
Get an overview of the ADLs with which a resident needs assistance. In the Form tab, you can set priorities by clearly labeling and color-coding information:
- Red – Most important information, e.g. Code status, liquids, and adaptive devices
- Blue – Important information, e.g. ADLs, diet, and skin interventions
- Green – Least important information, e.g. meal preferences, preferred language, and what a resident likes to do
This allows nursing staff to effortlessly view and track important information at a glance without needing to scroll back and forth on different pages.
- Daily Alerts – Nurses and nurse aides can rest easy knowing that they can flag and save specific resident items using the new alert messages function. You simply click Add Alert Message and then add a title and short message about some particular concern for that resident. Then, whenever a user enters the Kardex, they will see these alert messages. Staff must acknowledge the alert before it disappears from the screen, ensuring all authorized staff are notified.
- Easy-to-Fill Form Tab – This helpful function has its own tab at the top of the screen so the nursing staff can conveniently set priorities and organize things like a cold status DNR, preferred language, dining preference, and bedtimes.
The form is clear and concise with a single select or a text box for each form field. Staff simply have to click and select or type the appropriate option for each resident to update ADLs and other important information.
- Kardex History Page – It is vital that the nursing staff can see all the latest updates related to the Kardex. All of the recent activity in the Kardex appears in chronological order in the History section. Users can search by USER (to see who is responsible) or FIELD NAME (to see changes in status). Using the latter, they can enter specific terms like “alert” or “bath” to see important information or changes in status. The Kardex history also shows the trending (old and new value) for every update, so the nursing staff can stay informed with all the previous and latest updates.
- Printable PDF Format – As useful as it is to see the Kardex summary page on a handheld device, there will come a time when the nursing staff needs a printed summary page. Our Kardex summary pages are easy to print as a PDF page. Simply click on the Download to PDF button to see the preview page before hitting print.
Furthermore, the printable PDF summary page shows the exact same information as the electronic version. It even has the capability to flow onto additional pages when needed, ensuring all the important information is intact, visible, and most importantly, saving the staff a lot of time.
- Quick Access to Point of Care Sessions Criteria – In our Point of Care system, clinical staff can now create a session where they can see the specific residents they are going to work with throughout the day.
We have also incorporated a toggle button, so nurses and aides can easily move between residents’ charts when they are documenting. The new PoC system is clear, concise, and automatically loads onto a resident’s Kardex page for vast improvements in streamlining workflow efficiency.
Nurses and nurse aides can select ADLs that they want to observe. Once they have selected a particular ADL, they can point and click the appropriate action and update with a single click. The intuitive screen is designed in a clear layout, which adjusts accordingly when staff moves down the ADL list. This means that nursing staff can always see a full screen with all the options, ensuring that no documentation is ever missed.
- Review What Needs to Get Done in the Worklist – Whatever has or has not been documented is all located in one convenient location. The user can quickly determine what remains to be done. In fact, when you notice a task, like “walk in room,” needs to be addressed, you can simply click on that item in the worklist and it will take you directly to the relevant screen.
Improve Your Documentation Processes with Our Kardex
Time is of the essence, especially in long term care. Accurate documentation is everything. And today that requires the support of an intuitive system that can improve daily processes and efficiency. Experience Care’s new and improved Kardex streamlines the documentation process with easy access buttons, color-coded actions, and pop-up alerts. The easy-to-navigate tabs are clear and concise, allowing nurses to move between ADLs ensuring they document and update every change, quickly and efficiently.
Nurses and CNAs will save time by documenting and recording ADLs at kiosks or on tablets. Soon we will upgrade the system to include specific navigation for small handheld devices, like mobile phones, to allow nurses and aides direct access to the Kardex screen on the device of their choosing.