Korle Bu to pilot bed management initiative
The management of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is to begin a robust bed management policy so as to respond swiftly to emergency cases at the facility.
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In the new paradigm, technology will be used to take inventory of all the beds in the hospital and track their usage such that at any point in time, available beds will be known.
“In the new policy, emergency cases will be administered and managed at any available ward in the hospital and transferred to the appropriate ward when stable,” the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the KBTH, Dr Felix Anyah, disclosed.
Initiative
He said the move formed part of an initiative to deploy a comprehensive hospital information management system to boost its operations and check revenue losses.
He said a lot of work had been done to start the initiative on pilot basis this year.
Dr Anyah made the disclosure to journalists when a team from Stanbic Bank presented a cheque for GH¢100,000 to the management of the hospital in Accra last Friday.
Collaboration
He said with time, the deployment of the technology in hospital information management would be extended to encompass other hospitals in Accra such that the health facilities could share information and tackle emergencies head-on.
“What will happen is that we will be able to connect with other hospitals to know their bed availability at any point in time so that we will be able to save time and save lives in a timely manner.
“When the initiative is rolled out, it will also help to curb revenue losses because it will provide information on how long a client is occupying a bed and the actual amount of money to pay,” he said.
Ministerial committee
Dr Anyah further disclosed that an inter-ministerial committee would be set up to work to develop a policy framework that would be aimed at building a strong health tourism regime at the hospital.
“The committee will include the ministries of health, tourism, transport, the interior, foreign affairs and roads and highways.
“These ministries and other stakeholders will work together with the management of the KBTH to build a robust health environment to make the hospital the medical tourism destination in Africa,” he said.
He said efforts would also be made to enhance collaboration between the government and the private sector to address the information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructural challenge that came with the new paradigm.