Bedside caregivers on some units at UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital have recently begun using Rover, an app from Epic, which is an electric health record software company. Rover empowers these St. Luke’s team members to reduce time spent documenting patient information at a computer and remain at the patient bedside by documenting care on a handheld device.
Caregivers (nurses, patient care techs and respiratory therapists) of hospitalized patients log into a hospital-issued cell phone at the beginning of their shift and utilize the Rover app to document from the palm of their hand. This technology promotes real-time documentation, increases team member satisfaction, and improves overall documentation workflows.
So far, Rover has been implemented on two St. Luke’s units. Hospital team members share that the app is helpful for charting medication, input and output, vital signs and blood administration, and they appreciate the ability to quickly enter patient information on the go. Orders and notes are all at the fingertips of the caregivers and can help with questions that healthcare providers, patients or family members may have.
Each hospital-issued cell phone is an iPhone 13 with a clear case, and each have a sticker that reads, “We use our phones for caring.” Team members return the device at the end of their shift.
“UnityPoint Health recognizes the documentation challenge for our bedside nursing and respiratory therapy team members,” said Brenda Oehler, director of St. Luke’s Hospital Nursing Operations. “This is just one of the ways UnityPoint Health and St. Luke’s leadership team are looking to transform the future of our inpatient bedside nursing to meet the demands of our current healthcare system.”
Six other hospital units at St. Luke’s will start using Rover by the end of the year and there are plans for other departments to start using Rover next year.
