Future of Healthcare Scenario: TYRON 1

By Malone Smith 
CA:507.90 Organizational Innovation, Creativity & Change Management in Healthcare
Post University

As I try to keep my eyes open from the last 12-hour shift, my eyelids shut.

“Maybe I can get just five minutes sleep before the next rush,” I stated in my mind.

Eyes shut, I take in the sounds of the trauma wing. It’s like a gorgeous classical orchestra of sounds. Machines beeping, people yelling, monitors sounding and the television playing from Room 3. I can hear the president speaking about Tyron 1 virus in Europe. “Patient suffering extreme tremors, fever of 104 and rash on skin. Virus is morphing to mimic genetic material of patients.” “I wonder how they treat it?” I say to myself. “I’ve only treated…….”

“ Dr. Smith!” yelled nurse Kenny. I jolt awake, like at attention in the military. “I cannot seem to get my mobile lab tablet to work. The glucometer keeps getting jammed.”

“Try a new one Kenny or take blood the old fashion way,” I giggled.

I laugh because I remember the old days. Take blood, send the blood to the lab, and wait for results. That does happen at all anymore.

As I turned around I glance back at the television in Room 3. The channel has been turned to a local news channel. Below the screen flashes “BREAKING NEWS, Plane grounded at Hartford International Airport for sick passengers coming from Germany.”

I run into the patient room, turn the television up so I can be able to hear the television over the noises on the unit.

“Good afternoon everyone, I’m Peter White with WFSB news. We are standing at Hartford International Airport, where we have gotten word that a plane has landed due several individuals being extremely sick. I’m here with Jackie Woods a passenger from that plane.”

“Could you provide our viewers what was happening on the plane?” said Peter White.

“The individuals that were getting sick on the plane seemed to be fine when they got on the plane. All of a sudden the man sitting next to me started shaking. He said that it felt like he had a terrible fever. It looked like he was covered in a rash,” stated Jackie.

As I was watching the report my health tablet and wrist alert began to buzz and flash blue. We are getting those patients and it’s a code blue.

“What is a code blue again, Dr. Smith?” Kenny yells.

“It’s a virus code, to alert the doctors in the hospital to take additional barrier precautions,” I explained.

As the lead of the Trauma unit, I paged all of the infectious disease physicians, as well as everyone else on call to come down to the ER and meet at the nurses’ station in central pod.

I pick up the trauma phone not knowing what was going to be on the other side.

“This is Paramedic George O’Rouke calling in.We have 2 high-risk patients with fevers of 104.5, tremors, sweats and a rash. Patients are alert, on oxygen, have been given a dose of acetaminophen but nothing seems to be working. We are 10 minutes out.”

My brain starts working on overload. What could this be? I start going through possibilities in my head.

Within 2 minutes I have Dr. Paul Sydney (Infectious Disease), Dr. Mary Lopez (Infectious Disease), Kenny Peters (RN) standing in front of me at the nurses’ station.

“Dr. Smith, do you have any idea what we are dealing with?”

“Not sure, everyone. When the patients get here we need to do a thorough work up. Make sure to cross your T’s and dot your I’s. Please go put on your protective work gear. Dr. Sydney, take patient two and I’ll take patient one. Dr. Lopez please assist if needed,” I stated to the team.

Both patients arrive in the ER.

Patient 1 is transported to Trauma 1 and Patient two is transported to Trauma 2.

Both I and Dr. Sydney start evaluating our patients. First comes labs.

“Kenny, please get the mobile lab tablet and take both patients’ blood work,” I stated.

“Okay!” stated Kenny.

All of us are dressed from head to toe in protective gear. We look like space aliens. Blue Tyvek suits, gloves, goggles and face mask. It’s so hard to work in this equipment.

Patients are both full-body scanned by the mobile vital machine.  The scans will hopefully pick up temperature, detect virus or bacteria, and take heart rate.

As the patients are being scanned, I am receiving all of the blood work back on the patients. Fever is 104.5, it’s a virus, and patients are dehydrated. “Why is this machine not picking up what virus this is?”

“Doc! The machines are not picking up what virus this is. How are we going to treat this if it’s a virus that is not documented in this?”

“Give me some time to think about it. Get this patients hooked to fluids and push broad spectrum viral medications,” I told the physicians.

“Where did these patients come from?” I say to myself.

“Kenny! Where did these patients come from?” I ask.

“I believe they are US citizens coming from a vacation in Germany,” Kenny states.

“Germany????” I think to myself.

“Wait, I just saw something on the news about Germany. Patients being sick by Tyron 1,” I say out loud.

“Kenny, link the lab tablet to outside sources. I’ll give you the password to activate the World Lab Diagnostic in the lab tablet,” I yelled.

“Why, Dr.Smith?” Kenny asks.

“ I think that we might be dealing with a virus that has shown up in Germany.I want to see if World Lab Diagnostic has been updated by doctors over there. I want to see how they have been treating those patients!” I state.

“Oooooo, Okay” stated Kenny.

“Run the labs through the program and let me know if there is a hit!” I respond.

A few minutes later, Kenny comes running down the hall.

“Doc, we got a hit on the lab program that you said to run!” Kenny yelled.

“Good! What was it?” I eagerly asked.

“Tyron 1!” Kenny yelled. “ We don’t know how to treat that! That why the patients aren’t getting better. The meds won’t work unless they are specifically designed for them!”

“Kenny, talk to Dr. Sydney and ensure that the patients stay stable. I have to go ring a physician from Germany to see what they next steps are!”

I run down the hall and enter Conference Room three, which is locked for situations like this. The room is dark with a large television on the wall. It’s a huge computer. Health Information Transfer System! The system is a large physician network portal that allows for physicians to login, state what they need assistance with and it will locate a physician specialist that deals with that illness or disease.

I put my password in, upload the patient’s labs and guess on diagnosis. The computer brings up Tyron 1 virus. Please hold………

It seems like forever.

Connecting with Dr. Fredrick Viegen.

“Hello Dr. Viegen, I think I have two patients in my care with Tyron 1. What do you recommend as treatment?” I expressed with concern.

“Hello, Dr. Smith. I read through the labs, yes its Tyron 1! What you need to do is get blood from the patients and use your Viron machine to create two separate antiviral medications that are designed for each patient. The virus morphs to reflex genetic material. That is the only way you will kill it,” Dr.Viegen states.

“Thanks for all of your insight, Dr.Viegen!” I stated.

I rush to the lab where I run both of the patients’ blood through the Viron machine. Two vials of antibiotics are produced. One for patient one and one for patient two.

“Kenny, please administer the medicine to patient 2,” I stated.

I insert patient one’s medication into the IV line.

“Hopefully, this works,” I say to myself.

About 15 minutes later, I check the patients. Fever is down to 99.5, no shaking, rash seems to be fading! It worked!