CASE STUDY
Improving patient flow at Haraldsplass Diaconal Hospital
Haraldsplass Diaconal Hospital (HDS) in Bergen, Norway, is a non‑profit institution with around 1,250 staff.
The hospital provides care across internal medicine, surgery, orthopaedics, radiology, and outpatient services, serving a local population of approximately 147 000 residents.
It manages about 170 inpatient beds and typically treats 40 emergency patients per day — 90% of whom require immediate medical attention.
Background
HDS had already adopted DNV Imatis’ digital interaction boards across all wards in 2018, bringing real‑time visibility to patient and resource data. However, the transfer workflow from the emergency department to wards remained heavily manual, relying on verbal handover and handwritten notes, which introduced delays, inaccuracies and coordination bottlenecks.
Challenges
The main challenges centred on lack of structured internal communication during patient transfers. The ED shift leader was responsible for personally locating ward contacts, verbally relaying patient information already documented digitally, often duplicating effort using handwritten yellow notes. This approach led to miscommunication, unnecessary delays, and increased workload across wards and support teams.
Solution
Following a comprehensive analysis og workflow, a pilot solution co-created with the ward and ED staff named “Reported to” was devised and trialled initially between the emergency department and the surgical ward. Under this approach, patient reports are transferred directly from the ED’s digital board to the receiving ward’s board. The responsible nurse receives a notification on their mobile device, accepts the patient, and signals readiness with the press of a button. The patient’s room details are then automatically sent to porters, ensuring seamless coordination and clarity, while reducing reliance on verbal handovers.
During the trial, two prerequisites emerged for success:
- A comprehensive real-time ward occupancy overview on the ED shift leader’s board.
- Categorisation of patients by level of care to enable balanced workload distribution across wards
Key components
- DNV Imatis digital boards across ED and ward units.
- Mobile notifications sent to accountable nursing staff.
- A “Reported to” function linking ED board to ward boards.
- Automatic signalling of readiness and room assignment to porters.
- Real‑time occupancy and care‑level information shared hospital‑wide.
Functionality and integrations
- The ED shift leader accesses a full‑hospital occupancy dashboard to allocate patients efficiently.
- Standardised digital handover messaging removes dependence on verbal relays.
- Porters receive automatic room information, minimising patient wait time in hallways.
- Ward managers update patient status actively, supporting cross‑department transparency.
- The system remains largely internal to DNV Imatis boards — with streamlined patient flow across departments without dependency on external integration.
Results and outcomes
Time saved
Shift leaders and ward staff report increased efficiency, overall HDS saves 15-17 hours per shift per day on coordination and manual routines.
Better distribution of care demand
More even distribution of staff workload across wards, informed by real-time care level data.
Enhanced patient safety
Standardised digital handover improves accuracy and traceability.
Faster transfers
Coordination via board-driven assignment cuts waiting time for porters and reduces throughput delays.
Data driven resource planning
Real time occupancy and status data enable smarter allocation of staff and beds.
Conclusion
Haraldsplass Diaconal Hospital significantly improved patient flow and coordination between emergency and ward units through a pragmatic, user-driven digital solution. Eliminating manual handovers and introducing task coordination has enhanced operational transparency, accelerated transfers and freed up valuable staff time.
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