A concept for improving fluid balance monitoring during hospitalisation

Background: During hospitalisation, maintaining fluid balance in patients is an essential nursing goal, but also a challenging task. Most often printed fluid balance charts (FBCs) placed at a patient’s bedside to record fluid intake throughout the day are used, and they often result in incorrect registration and contribute to nurses spending much time on documentation. A more accurate and less time-consuming method for fluid balance monitoring (FBM) is therefore needed. Aim: To develop a new way of FBM. Method: We describe a multidisciplinary design process during which we leveraged engineering methods and tools to develop a solution that potentially supports patient care and safety, reduces staff workload, improves accuracy of fluid assessment, integrates with current nursing practise, supports an easy adoption in the healthcare system, and allows patients to be involved in the process. Conclusion: The Tablet System has the potential to offer a more accurate and less time-consuming method for fluid balance monitoring that addresses two megatrends in healthcare: digitisation of manual tasks and empowering patients.