What's the hullabaloo about WALLaroo?
TIM JOHNSON , Staff Writer 03/14/2004
Staff photo/Tim Johnson - Deb Janecek, clinical coordinator of surgical services, logs on to a computer by placing her finger in an electronic sensor. The sensor is one method Alegent Health is looking up to speed up the log-on process. (Looks like the BioTouch...) images.zwire.com
What in the world is a WALLaroo?
Here's a hint: It's not a marsupial - although it does have a pocket, of sorts.
It's a thin, vertical cabinet that attaches to the wall and has a door that can be folded down for use as a temporary work station. Laptop and other compact computers can be stored or carried in the locking container.
Because it takes little space and is portable, it might be a useful tool for doctors and nurses, said Bernie Leick, senior systems analyst for Alegent Health.
The WALLaroo, available from Carstens, was one of many devices and accessories staff members at Alegent Health Mercy Hospital looked at during a Technology Showcase Monday at the hospital.
Other items included fingerprint sensors, retina scanners, PDAs, laptop computers, tablet computers, computer carts and other accessories.
The event was part of the design process for a new, electronic medical records system, said Dr. David Grinbergs, medical director of informatics for Alegent Health.
"Our goal is to implement a complete, interdepartmental electronic medical record at all the hospitals in Alegent and then eventually add the clinics to the same system," he said.
The system will give doctors and nurses access to patient records anywhere on the network in "real time," he said.
"This is a quantum leap, and it's a big change in how patient care is provided and how doctors and nurses go about their tasks. This technology gives us a productive, safe, efficient way to take care of patients well into the future."
The show allowed health care workers who will use the technology to provide input on the system's components, Grinbergs said.
"It's highly unusual for physicians and clinicians to be involved in the early stages of designing and selecting the technology that they will be using in their medical practices," he said. "We want to provide multiple options for the way people want to do things."
Employees could log on to a computer more quickly by using a fingerprint sensor or retina scanner, said Ozella Frazier, network analyst.
"Our goal is to get our employees logged on and get the applications they need up within 30 seconds," she said.
With fingerprint sensors, a worker can just put his or her index finger against the sensor, said Deb Janecek, clinical coordinator for surgical services. A scanner reads the user name on their employee ID.
"Once you get set up, all you need to do is wave your card over the scanner and put your finger on the sensor, and you're in," she said.
The device would also help prevent breaches of security, Grinbergs said.
"In health care, with HIPAA (privacy regulations) and things, it's absolutely imperative that we have security and privacy," he said.
A tablet computer can be attached to a wall, set up on a desk or carried, Grinbergs said.
"You could pull images, X-rays, reports - really anything you can do in a paper environment, you could do with this," he said. "The difference here is, you can have immediate access."
Several PDAs and laptops now have electronic "pads" where a doctor or nurse could write down notes by hand and have them changed to type, said Dwight Hiles Jr., infrastructure engineer. That's right - it can actually read people's handwriting.
"You'd be surprised," he said. "It can read things I didn't think it would be able to read."
The option of having health care workers speak and using voice recognition software to transcribe their notes into text was considered, but background noise would have interfered too much, he said.
Mercy's emergency department already has an electronic system in place with computers linked through a wireless network, Grinbergs said. What the overall system will look like has yet to be determined.
"My assumption is, we'll have a combination of things - we won't just have one thing for all people in all places," he said.
And, yes, there may even be a WALLaroo or two.
zwire.com
steve |
