FAQ

Each installation of Crib Notes^TM includes electronic (HL-7) interfaces to the following systems:

• Admission / Discharge / Transfer (ADT)
• Laboratory
• Radiology – for reports, not images
• Electronic Health Information Management system

Additional interfaces are available for such applications as:

• Heart Monitor system
• Ventilators
• Pharmacy

All interfaces are developed in house by the Crib Notes^TM programming team. Working with your IT department we create and test the interfaces as part of the implementation process. Prior to Go-Live the interfaces are in place and accepting or sending data – depending upon the interface. So when you go live you will have access to critical patient data to help you with your daily care of the patient.

Any size unit from 4 to 100 beds and up will receive benefits from installing and using Crib Notes™. Our current customer base includes small Level II units based in community hospitals all the way up to large university based Level III units.

Crib Notes™ automatically sends all essential information including the Discharge Summary to the hospital’s HIM system. Posting Discharge Summaries in the hospital’s clinical data repository meets the needs of the patients, families and the hospital's doctors. Since neonates start their “health-care story” in the NICU, Crib Notes™ actually strengthens the hospital’s EHR strategy.

Any clinician that you want to have document in the system can have permissions to access the patient record. Their permissions may be as limited as “review only” all the way up to data entry in the flowsheet, depending on how your unit operates. This includes MDs, NNPs, RNCs, RNs, RTs, Nutritionists, Case Management, Social Workers, etc.

Customization of flow sheets provides flexibility to meet the special needs of your unit. For example, an "ECMO" documentaiton flowsheet can be created if you are providing this service. Other customers have created "Lactation" worksheets.

When rounding on the unit, a Unit Census / Unit Overview sheet can be printed to provide the clinician with an overview of each baby. Once the clinician has seen the baby, logging into Crib Notes™ allows them to pull forward to Progress Notes all pertinent information for the last 24 hours – I/O, Vital Signs, Critical Events, Vent Settings, laboratory data, radiology results, ancillary reports, etc. Nursing documentation that is pertinent to the progress note flows automatically as well. 

After reviewing this information on the screen, the clinician uses pre-configured notes or types in free text notes – or a combination of both. Progress notes are then saved, and available for review as part of the baby. An advanced Progress Note sign out process ensures accurate progress notes from fellows, residents, NNPs, etc.

A standard library of Care Paths is provided for you when the system is installed. Each user can edit them as well as add your own from your existing library.

All of the data entered into the patient record can be printed out. In addition, the system allows you to scan documents (consents, procedural reports, etc.) and attach them directly to the patient record. Some examples of printouts are:

• Daily Progress Notes
• Consultation Notes
• Daily Nurses Notes
• Procedure Notes
• Vital Sign graphs
• Patient Consents
• Daily Crib Mail^TM messages
• Unit Reports
• Vaious other reports

Crib Notes™ comes with a built in library for you to customize your preferences around. This “Preference” development is done by your staff with guidance from Crib Notes™ staff in the time leading up to implementation. During a demonstration we will show the ease and flexibility of the customization available within Crib Notes™.

User Training is typically done in two phases.

• Super User training is a two day process held at the customer site.
• Staff training is done by your in house Super Users in small groups, typically a four hour session for the nurses
• Physician training is done in the same manner as nursing training, but the session is typically much shorter.
• Go-live support is provided by trained nurses, NNPs and MDs – depending upon the needs of your unit.

Since Crib Notes^TM works like you are used to working in your unit, the learning curve is very short. Flowsheets look like the paper sheets you are used to, and the terminology used in Crib Notes^TM is very much like what you are using today. In many cases your terminology is incorporated into the program so you are not having to learn new language as well as a new program.

This is driven a lot by the interfaces that you chose to have with your system. Assuming ADT, Lab, Radiology and e-HIM interfaces, the implementation is usually scheduled for 6 months from contract signing. This is dependent more on the hospital IT resources and their provider of Lab, Radology, ADT and e-HIM. A detailed implementation plan is created at the start of the project with milestone creation and assigned responsibilities / timelines to ensure that the project stays on track.

The Crib Notes^TM Go-Live event is coordinated with your users to ensure that the transition is very smooth. Typically nursing starts documenting in the system on the Monday morning of the Go-Live week. Clinicians start documenting progress notes, etc. the next day. The nursing data flows to the Clinician side of the program so when they start documenting on Tuesday morning, they already have data from nursing there and creating their first progress note is straightforward with pertinent data already available to them.

We provide on site support during the week of Go-Live with experienced NICU nurses who work with Crib Notes^TM at their home hospitals. In addition we have NNP and Physician support available. A custom Implementation Plan is developed with you to ensure that we meet the unique needs of your unit.