Authors: (including presenting author): :
Yip CKK(1), Lam TCC(1), Chung WK(1), Chow TL(1)
Affiliation: :
(1) Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital
Keyword 1: :
Patient safety
Keyword 2: :
Operational efficiency
Keyword 3: :
Electronic inpatient result management
Keyword 4: :
Queen Mary Hospital
Introduction: :
Manual inpatient result management in Hong Kong public hospitals involves printing, manual sorting and filing, and transcription of laboratory and radiology reports, leading to delays, errors and high paper consumption that undermine patient safety, operational efficiency, and environmental sustainability. Queen Mary Hospital (QMH) implemented an Electronic Inpatient Result Management System (EIRMS) with automated alerts, closed-loop tracking, and electronic acknowledgments to address these challenges, supporting the Hospital Authority's smart hospital initiative and HKSAR carbon neutrality targets by 2050.
Objectives: :
This project evaluated EIRMS impact on inpatient settings in QMH. Key Objectives included: (1) reducing result processing time from availability to clinical review; (2) minimizing error risks through digital tracking; (3) quantifying paper savings for environmental sustainability; (4) assessing staff usability perceptions to support scalability.
Methodology: :
A prospective observational study was conducted using the PEDALS model across four inpatient wards: Cardiac ward and Emergency Medical ward of the Accident & Emergency Department (EIRMS pilot); Gastrointestinal ward and Medical Admission ward(Manual controls). Time-motion analysis measured review intervals in 16 randomly sampled episodes per ward during rounds. Paper usage tracked pre and post the implementation; User's experience and system usability were measured using the IBM Usability Questionnaire with correlation analysis performed.
Result & Outcome: :
Post-implementation, result handling times decreased significantly by 58.74% from 3 hours 43 minutes in the Gastrointestinal Ward (Control ward) to 1 hour 32 minutes in the Cardiac Ward (EIRMS) and by 11.95% from 3 hours 46 minutes in the Medical Admission Ward (Control ward) to 3 hours 19 minutes in Emergency Medical ward of the Accident & Emergency Department (EIRMS) respectively. These metrics were based on time from result availability to clinical review and follow-up. Staff reported improved workflow efficiency due to elimination of manual sorting. Paper usage dropped substantially, supporting the hospital’s sustainability goals. No adverse patient safety incidents related to result management were reported post-implementation. EIRMS significantly improved patient safety, operational performance, and environmental sustainability. Its success underscores the value of thoughtfully implemented digital tools in modern healthcare. Future plans include system refinements, broader hospital rollout, and strategies to support long-term adoption. These findings support the broader adoption of digital result management systems across public hospitals in Hong Kong.
