Authors: (including presenting author): :
Tse WLW(1), Chau YC(1), Cheung YS(1), Yu YMA(1), Chan Y(1), Lun PY(1), Wong WY(1), Ng MF(1)
Affiliation: :
(1)Department of Surgery, North District Hospital
Keyword 1: :
QR code technology
Keyword 3: :
Accessibility
Keyword 4: :
Satisfaction
Introduction: :
Hospital guidelines are frequently updated. Although management promptly disseminates these updates to frontline nursing staff, some guidelines are rarely used and are stored in various locations, such as iHospital, NurseNET, and eDMS. Furthermore, limited physical space in wards restricts the display of all hospital guidelines. Consequently, nurses often spend considerable time searching for relevant documents when needed. To optimize time for patient care and ensure accurate adherence to hospital guidelines, a worksheet incorporating encrypted QR code–linked hospital guidelines commonly encountered by surgical nurses was developed.
Objectives: :
To evaluate the effects of encrypted QR code–linked hospital guidelines on accessibility and satisfaction among frontline nursing staff.
Methodology: :
An anonymous pre- and post-intervention online survey was conducted to evaluate the effects of encrypted QR code–linked hospital guidelines in the surgical unit at North District Hospital. The pre- and post-intervention time (in minutes) taken to search for hospital guidelines was compared using a dependent (paired) t-test. Satisfaction among nursing staff was assessed using a five-point Likert scale.
Result & Outcome: :
Results: The findings are based on 68 participants, with a response rate of 90%. Compared to the pre-survey (16.51 ± 22.57), the post-survey (1.60 ± 2.29) showed a statistically significant reduction in the time (in minutes) taken to search for hospital guidelines (p < 0.001, Cohen's d = −0.66). Overall, 83.8% agreed that it was difficult to search for guidelines before implementation. After implementation, 95.3% agreed that the QR code technology improved accessibility to hospital guidelines; 94.1% agreed that they could adhere to those guidelines more accurately; and 92.7% were satisfied with the implementation. Conclusion: The findings indicate that encrypted QR code–linked hospital guidelines reduce the time nurses spend searching for relevant documents and enhance their satisfaction. The time saved can be redirected to patient care while ensuring accurate adherence to hospital guidelines. Each department can develop its own worksheet incorporating encrypted QR code–linked hospital guidelines according to its needs. To evaluate and maintain monthly updates of the hospital guidelines in the worksheet, a workgroup—comprising one nurse appointed from each surgical ward—was established.
