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Bring Back the Hospital Orderly

The healthcare industry is facing unprecedented challenges, with nursing shortages and increasing demands on medical staff. Reviving the hospital orderly role could provide part of a much-needed solution in the era of intelligent workspaces.

TLDR: Reintroducing the hospital orderly role can alleviate nurse burnout, improve operational efficiency, and provide a stepping stone for aspiring healthcare professionals. With the role adjusted to create order according to Lean principles, much of the administrative work can shift to this role and nurse can work at the "top of their license".

Definitions:

• Hospital Orderly: A support staff member who assists with non-clinical tasks in a hospital setting.
• Intelligent Workspace: A technologically enhanced environment that optimizes workflow and efficiency.
• Care Traffic Control: A system that uses situational awareness and automation to optimize mobile workflows across the healthcare enterprise.

Where Matters

• The role of the hospital orderly goes back to the origins of the hospital itself. In the Bysantine era the orderly assisted doctors in performing procedures. It was important in military hospitals and was popular in the mid 20th century to address the strenuous physical tasks that nurses were faced with.
• The physical tasks that orderlies did were being addressed by assistive equipment and other roles. When medical tasks were replaced by the CNA (certified nurse assistant) the role was mostly phased out.
• Many administrative tasks remain and new technologies like the Intelligent workspaces use Real-time Locator Systems, pnematic tubes and autonomous mobile robots (AMR) to address the motion of equipment, medications, labs and supplies. But this can create even more adminstrative work for the nurses.
• The orderly can be the go-to person to help nurse with the tasks that prevent them from working at the "top-of-their-license". The concept of "everything has a place and everything in its place" is a challenge without such a role.
• The orderly can provide a way for nursing candidates to see healthcare up close, before they invest in further training.
• The role of the orderly will become even more important when Care Traffic Control is in place. On-demand deliveries will be possible and efficiencies that support services gain will push bottlenecks closer to patient care. The orderly can remove those bottlenecks to fully realize these improvements.

Key Takeaways

• Hospital orderlies can significantly reduce the non-clinical workload on nurses
• The role provides a low-barrier entry point for aspiring healthcare professionals
• Modern technology enhances the orderly's ability to manage equipment and supplies
• Implementing an orderly program can improve overall hospital efficiency and patient care

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Until next week,

Paul E Zieske ​Location Based Services Consulting ​​​