Leaders at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston understand that a stay in the intensive care unit can be an extremely distressing experience for patients, between being seriously ill, frequently sedated, surrounded by noisy equipment and prodded by healthcare workers.
The Boston Globe recently highlighted a few ways BIDMC tries to make the ICU a more comfortable and humane environment, summarized below.
1. Patients in the ICU are encouraged to visit an iPad application where there can post their biography and picture for healthcare workers to view. In turn, hospital staff post their own names and photos so patients who are frequently sedated can keep track of their care providers.
2. When hospital staff examine and provide medical care without warning to patients who are sleeping, it's not only disrespectful, it can cause patients to hallucinate or perceive harm. To combat this problem, BIDMC developed a survey that would be given to patients every three days, asking if they felt they were being treated with respect. It also tracks whether healthcare workers actually read patients' biographies.
3. The medical center has a system in place to report and investigate all instances of disrespectful care. Investigators classify the severity of the disrespect in each case and search for solutions. By treating poor care like a medical error or other adverse event, its importance is elevated.
4. BIDMC also created a diary on patients' iPads, where patients' families can keep them in the loop about the care they are receiving and reassure them with updates and stories. Nurses at Massachusetts General Hospital, also in Boston, and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, use a similar approach with diaries to update patients and reduce the likelihood of patients developing post-traumatic stress disorder.
More articles on the ICU:
No food may be better than eating via IV for children in ICU, study suggests
Acute respiratory distress syndrome frequently goes unrecognized in ICUs
ICU-acquired CLABSIs linked with higher risk of inpatient mortality