Emergency Department Physician Dr. Amir Behboudi introduces Nausea Relief Plus to ease nausea symptoms for patients.
Dr. Behboudi spends his days addressing patient concerns alongside nurses and other physicians in the Emergency Department at Peace Arch Hospital. A question stays on top of his mind: How can we help patients improve their symptoms while waiting to be triaged?
“We want to provide comfort to patients while they are waiting to be seen, and a common discomfort many suffer from is nausea and vomiting,” says Dr. Behboudi. “I did some research and discovered a simple yet effective solution: Isopropyl alcohol.”
Dr. Behboudi consulted with his colleagues and the triage team. They then started giving instructional handouts and isopropyl alcohol swabs to patients who were suffering from nausea and vomiting. These patients could sniff the swabs for relief. The initial feedback was positive.
Positive feedback led to dedicated self-treatment stations strategically set up near nursing stations throughout the Emergency Department at Peace Arch Hospital. These stations allow nurses to continue providing instruction handouts to patients suffering from nausea.
To help patients with self-treatment, Dr. Behboudi and his team created an instructional video demonstrating the use of isopropyl alcohol swabs to alleviate nausea, which is now being played on televisions in the emergency department waiting room.
“I enrolled in a Physician Quality Improvement course, which meant I would have dedicated time and funding for a quality improvement project,” says Dr. Behboudi. “Immediately with my project team, I began thinking, how can we make accessing these swabs and instructions easier for patients?”
The first step was to create an appealing design for the packaging, which illustrated the product and instructions on the back and added more appeal. Working with his team, they created colourful packaging, naming the isopropyl alcohol swab Nausea Relief Plus. In addition, instructional posters were placed in waiting and treatment rooms.
The next step was to find a way for patients to access the treatment quickly and seamlessly—the solution was a vending machine.
“The vending machine is streamlining the dispensing of Nausea Relief Plus so that our patients can reduce their symptoms,” says Dr. Behboudi. “This is why innovation drives us forward, as we better the patient experience by providing comfort and reducing their symptoms.”
With the help of Peace Arch Hospital Foundation, Dr. Behboudi secured two vending machines for use at Peace Arch Hospital.
“We are always pleased to support our Emergency Department teams with innovation that streamlines patient care and increases their comfort,” said Stephanie Beck, chief executive officer, Peace Arch Hospital Foundation.