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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PCSS who wrote (97282)	4/22/2002 8:25:59 AM
From: PCSS	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Compaq Team Up to Increase Operating Room Efficiency and Customer Service Medical Center Embraces Wireless iPAQ PocketPC as Key to Keeping Facilities and Medical Staff Coordinated NASHVILLE, Tenn. and HOUSTON, Apr 22, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Balancing cost efficiency and quality of care is a daily challenge for any healthcare organization. Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, has created more satisfying patient experiences -- while improving quality and cost efficiencies in surgical care -- with a new patient tracking and operating room management system developed and implemented by the medical center's information technology staff. Technology from Compaq Computer Corporation (CPQ) is an integral part of the Web-based system, most notably in the form of iPAQ Pocket PCs linked wirelessly to a central server that stores the schedule of surgeries and patient information. The patient tracking and operating room management system, which was developed as part of a surgical center redesign project, follows each patient to each point of care, from admission until they are checked out of the hospital. As surgery patients enter the hospital doors, medical center employees known as "greeters" log them into the system using a wireless iPAQ Pocket PC, immediately notifying each station in the surgical care cycle that the patient has arrived. By accessing the surgical schedule, the greeter is also aware of the time that the patient's surgery is scheduled, which operating room is to be used, and who the patient's doctor is. This information allows the greeter to get the patient to the correct area of the hospital to be prepared for surgery. Once the patient is logged into the system, the medical staff updates the patient's status as they proceed through pre-op, the surgery itself, the recovery room, the move into the patient room and continuing until the patient leaves the hospital. Constant updating of the patient's records ensures that doctors and nurses get the latest information on the patient's location, condition, and the progress of their treatment. The capabilities of the iPAQ Pocket PC bring advantages over other handheld devices in meeting the requirements of the Health Care Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), federally mandated regulations that take effect in 2003 governing the privacy of medical records and patient information. The iPAQ has the capacity and capability for secure, wireless exchange of patient information through an Intranet Web browser -- between the care provider and Vanderbilt's systems. Wireless Intranet Web access will comply with HIPPA regulations and avoids the need to actually store patient data on the iPAQ Pocket PC itself -- a big plus for confidentiality and data retention, should one of the devices were to be damaged, lost, or stolen. According to Dr. Michael Higgins, an anesthesiologist and vice chairman for Adult Perioperative Services at Vanderbilt, getting surgery patients into the tracking system quickly is key to keeping the process moving efficiently. "Our research showed that a number of our surgery patients were late going into surgery because they simply were not where they needed to be when they needed to be there," Higgins said. "We discovered that most of the 'delayed patients' were actually at the medical center on time, but had simply gone to the wrong waiting area or otherwise couldn't be located right away." Higgins said using the new system, greeters enter information on exactly where pre-op nurses can go to find the patient. According to Higgins, that improvement alone has reduced the level of delayed patients by more than ninety percent. "All of that is good for the hospital's bottom line and means better care for the patient," adds Higgins. "But there's a terrific intangible benefit as well: our patients are greeted by name at the door and everywhere they're taken upon admission. Compare that to having to re-introduce yourself at each stop along the way and wondering if you're even in the right place. On the day of his or her surgery, every patient wants to feel like they are special. This system helps us make the patient feel exactly that way." Operating rooms are the single largest source of revenue for most hospitals. Getting surgical patients into the operating room and into recovery in a timely fashion means more efficient use of the operating room, maximizing return. Vanderbilt's new system even helps cleaning crews be better prepared to move in quickly to clean and prepare both the operating and recovery rooms for the next patient. This level of efficiency reduces overtime costs for operating room staff that otherwise would have to stay late to complete procedures. These efficiencies are realized all the way into the hospital room. The new system has also increased patient satisfaction by keeping waiting to a minimum. In addition to all of that, the program can better serve referring physicians and communicate with them at critical times in their patients' care. Goals of the surgical system redesign project were to improve the delivery of patient care, to maximize patient safety by making up-to-the minute information on the patient's status available to physicians and nurses at the moment and point-of-care and to improve efficiency in the use of the Center's operating rooms. "Vanderbilt's surgical patient and operating room management system is an excellent example of the sophistication and yet the simplicity of the iPAQ Pocket PC," said Jim Weynand, Compaq vice president, government and education markets. "It's sophisticated enough to handle critical tasks, yet simple enough to operate that it can be easily used by workers whose primary skill sets lie in a different area." Physicians at Vanderbilt say the success of the surgical model has prompted them to begin investigating ways to expand the patient information and tracking system to other areas within the medical center.