Healthcare IT News - March 2009 - (Page 33) www.HealthcareITNews.com management solutions March 2009 ■ Healthcare IT News 33 Clinicians freed to work anywhere, anytime Wireless tech makes it possible to work anywhere in the hospital and beyond. By John Andrews, Contributing Editor t of testimonials about how wireless technology is making impressive strides in the effort to make healthcare less cumbersome and more efficient. Through various applica- CritiCal data aCCess tions, wireless devices are helping providers The Center for Bone and Joint in West Palm be more productive in clinical, operational Beach, Fla., has seen wireless “make a great and administrative functions. impact on the practice,” notes Executive Greater efficiency is certainly the goal of Manager David Klebonis. From 2004 to a paperless office and wireless technology 2007, he said technology adoption helped has been instrumental in helping the Front the practice grow 30 percent a year. Range Center for Brain and Spine Surgery in With 19 physicians and 15 PAs at the Fort Collins, Colo., reach a 98 percent paper- center, Klebonis said the doctors split their less status. time between the OR, hospital and clinic While Administrator Nancy Timmons and need reliable connectivity to the netcautions that benefits such work for electronic medias patient safety, return-on“physicians may be cal records access and investment and operational averse to change, but real-time data. improvement levels have yet “Real time access to to be quantified, she sums if something increases data is absolutely critiup the value of wireless this efficiencies for them, cal and has produced way: “Our surgeons are hapthe biggest benefit,” he they’ll accept it.” pier, more productive and said. “Orthopedic sur– David Klebonis less frustrated.” geons have large support As it has throughout healthcare, wireless teams, up to eight people working for them technology is evolving rapidly at the Front and through wireless technology they can Range surgery center, which serves a primar- stay in touch and keep everyone in sync.” ily rural population in northern Colorado, Updates, such as surgery schedule changes, western Nebraska and southern Wyoming. can be made on the fly and everyone at the Starting with digital dictation in 2003, the hospital is kept in the loop.” clinic eventually moved toward a paperless The center is still in the formative environment and “wireless naturally came stages of its long-term wireless strategy, along with it,” Timmons said. which includes using tablets with pointCenter personnel – including four sur- and-click encounter documentation, highgeons and support staff – use Motorola resolution monitors in place of wet or film Symbol PDAs and are connected by Intergy X-ray and have docking stations in each software from Tampa, Fla.-based Sage room for digital imaging, Klebonis said. Software Healthcare. Among the functions What’s more, he said physician adoption available are electronic charts, prescriptions, of PDAs and iPhones has spanned generahere’s no shortage charges and scheduling. Timmons concedes that when traveling to satellite centers across the rural region, coverage can be thin in places, but that “wireless connectivity is spreading.” Timmons sees the next step for the center as adding smart phones and integration of voice recognition to the system. sponsoring a nationwide forum on the bar coding issue, May 6-8 in Tampa, Fla. By effectively utilizing bar code technology at all points of care, he contends patients can be properly identified along with all the products and services administered to them. Widespread adoption of bedside bar coding would also fully address the Joint Commission’s national patient safety goals, Neuenschwander said. “For the last eight years the number one goal, the top problem has been improving the accuracy of patient identification,” he said. “The number three goal for that period has been to improve the accuracy of medication administration. By the Joint Commission’s definition, these are problematic areas that need to be addressed with proven processes and technology. Nothing will have greater impact on advancing those goals Greater efficiency is the goal of a paperless hospital or physician than point-of-care bar coding practice, and wireless technology is helping to make it happen. technology.” tional boundaries. The primary obstacle to industry“Physicians may be averse to change, wide adoption of bar coding is what but if something increases efficiencies for Neuenschwander calls “healthcare attention them, they’ll accept it,” Klebonis said. “Now deficit disorder.” In essence, he sees electronthey use it to manage their lives when six ic health records and comparisons to radio months ago, 15-to-25 percent didn’t even frequency identification as distractions from use e-mail.” the real issue. “We need to strive for EHRs, but the scope is huge and we shouldn’t let that grand vision Bar Coding passion Wireless technology also plays a pivotal role keep us from incremental gains with more in the advancement of bedside bar coding achievable processes like bar coding,” he in healthcare, says Mark Neuenschwander, said. “EHRs are like world peace – you can’t co-founder of unSUMMIT, which he says vote against it, but it’s tough to achieve.” ■ has a mission of “getting the nation off its More at healthcareITnews.com butt on bar coding.” Neuenschwander is ●Connect: WIreLeSS 0309 e Ieee approves new wireless standard PIsCataWaY, nJ – The IEEE has approved a new wireless standard, IEEE 1902.1 – Standard for Long Wavelength Wireless Network Protocol, which improves upon the visibility network protocol known as RuBee. RuBee is a bidirectional, on-demand, peer-to-peer, radiating, transceiver protocol operating at wavelengths below 450 Khz. This protocol works in harsh environments with networks of many thousands of tags and has an area range of 10 to 50 feet. The standard is expected to be used in healthcare for managing patient flow and high valued assets, high security government facilities, assets visibility and mission critical tool management in aerospace industries, firearm management and visibility in government armories, livestock management and mobile asset management. “Establishing RuBee as an IEEE standard will offer a range of benefits to the healthcare industry, government law enforcement agencies, livestock industry, retailers, industrial manufacturers and RuBee Equipment Systems manufacturers,” said John K. Stevens, CEO and chairman of Visible Assets Inc. and chair of the IEEE 1902.1 working group. ■ More at healthcareITnews.com e Connect: StaNDarD 0309 june 3-5, 2009 San diego Convention Center San diego, California Changing economy, Changing Health Care, Changing Lives, institute 2009 From the economy to technology and the media, the American way of life is changing. But, what about health care? We know it needs to change, but how should it evolve? Institute 2009, June 3-5 in San Diego, will look at this nexus of change on both a national and day-to-day operational level, including concurrent session topics on business operations, and health IT. When you devote just a few days, you’ll get big results. Institute 2009 is filled with keynote, workshop, concurrent, and breakfast sessions; plenty of networking; and an exhibit hall with nearly 200 companies. www.ahip.org/conferences/institute2009 RegisteR Now For more information or to register for Institute 2009, visit www.ahip.org/conferences/Institute2009 or call 877.291.2247. Content and Design AHIP—All Rights Reserved: © AHIP 2009 ● http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareITnews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/clinicians-freed-work-anywhere-anytime http://www.ahip.org/conferences/institute2009 http://www.ahip.org/conferences/Institute2009 http://www.ahip.org/conferences/institute2009 http://www.healthcareITnews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/ieee-approves-new-wireless-standard
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