Wireless information system helps doctors communicate
01 September 2009
The Kosice Children’s teaching hospital started a six-month Mobile Point of Care trial. The result was a reduction in time spent on administration tasks, elimination of duplicate examinations or prescriptions and reduced waiting periods.
Program Fast Facts
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Situation
Doctors are forced to spend time on administrative tasks which take away time from their primary task of patient care.
Solution
Mobile point of care systems allow Doctors to have up to date information on patients and enabled hospital staff at Kosice hospital to reduce 25 percent of the time spent on administration tasks.
Benefits
- Eliminating duplicate examination or prescriptions
- Reduces waiting periods
- Improved healthcare services
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eHealth systems can deliver high-quality information, in real time and in a manner that is easily accessible everywhere, while at the same time improving the operational efficiency of all the supporting processes involved in the delivery of healthcare. The Kosice Children’s Teaching Hospital trialed Mobile Point of Care in the Oncology department with a view to streamline the doctors’ working processes and help deliver increasingly sophisticated levels of care.
“Communication is a very important part of our work. Fast gaining of information is the key to making the right decisions.”- Irina Oravkinova, Director of the Oncology Department, Kosice Children’s Teaching Hospital Program
Each patient was provided with a bedside wireless Internet access point, and the five doctors within the Oncology Department began using the tablet PCs in their daily work. These provided real-time access to patient case histories and medication files. Doctors could view and enter new information at the bedside – previously information was written down and then entered into the hospital’s information system at a later date. The immediate insight into patient histories and medication regimes enabled the doctors to be more responsive to patients’ needs, optimized workflow and supported decision making. This up to date information can help doctors avoid incorrect or delayed diagnosis and medication related errors.
eHealth can also make the healthcare system more efficient. Currently, there is huge complexity in moving patients through a healthcare system, from when they first report to a general practitioner, to referral, scans or biopsies, an operation and follow-up. At the Kosice Children’s Teaching Hospital the MPoC enabled the hospital staff to save at least 25 percent of the time spent on administration tasks, eliminate duplicate examinations or prescriptions and reduce or eliminate waiting periods.