ACUTE Kidney Injury (AKI) is a sudden episode of kidney failure or kidney damage that happens within a few hours or a few days. AKI causes a build-up of waste products in your blood and makes it hard for the kidneys to keep the right balance of fluid in your body.
AKI is very common in hospitals and is present in around five to fifteen percent of hospitalised patients.
To help identify patients with AKI while they are in the hospital, GV Health has developed its own e-alert system, a first for Australia.
As the only health service in the country working with this unique system, a review of the system has revealed a stable and low incidence of AKI in GV Health patients since the introduction of the new alerts system 18 months ago.
The AKI e-alert system was designed by building an algorithm into GV Health’s existing electronic patient management system. Based on a patient’s blood result and the software’s ability to compare previous blood results, AKE e-alerts are sent out to medical and nursing staff, alerting them to ensure they are managed appropriately and in a timely manner.
GV Health executive director clinical operations, Donna Sherringham said, “We are the only health service in Australia carrying out this type of monitoring, which is fantastic for our patients who are benefitting from a system that is the result of the passion of our staff.
“This system has been developed in-house at GV Health, which is an innovative way to monitor and improve health care.”
Regular training regarding the alert is ongoing for all GV Health medical staff, together with the management of patients with AKI.
