Ward workflow audit
Most healthcare applications look complete in a demonstration. They look different at 02:00 when a float nurse covers two bays and the printer on the ward has jammed. This audit treats the live shift as the specification.
Who it is for
Hospitals, specialist centres, and large clinics running an EMR, order-entry, or nursing documentation system
How long it usually takes
Two to four weeks on site, depending on the number of wards and shifts
What we observe
We attend agreed shifts on named wards. We watch how staff search for a patient, enter vitals, place orders, print labels, and hand over. We note workarounds: paper slips, WhatsApp groups, shared logins, and shadow spreadsheets. None of this is treated as staff failure. It is treated as evidence of how the application actually behaves under load.
What we sample
Alongside observation we sample a bounded set of records: admissions, medication administrations, discharge summaries, and cancelled orders. We compare what the screen shows with what the paper chart, pharmacy, or laboratory received. Discrepancies are written up with time, role, and screen — not as abstract 'usability issues'.
What you receive
A written report in plain English, a findings workshop with the people who run the wards, and a short list of changes ordered by clinical risk rather than by vendor ticket volume. We do not deliver a dashboard. We deliver a document a medical director can read on a Sunday evening.
Included in a typical engagement
- Shift observation on agreed wards, including at least one night or weekend block
- Record sampling against a written protocol agreed before fieldwork
- Map of workarounds and the risks they carry
- Findings workshop and a written report