Hospitals get electronic Medicare
No one would like to think of hospitals where "accidents happen." Yet they do, and to curtail the occurrence of such mundane accidents, many hospitals instigate numerous procedures. Procedures however, are only as good as their execution. Unfortunately many of these procedures are paper based which presents the largest problem. Papers get lost, misfiled, outdated and may even be incorrectly read or interpreted due to poor legibility. WARD IN HAND is a successfully tested IST based option that provides a greater degree of control over documentation of written procedures, treatments and notifications. The system is a portable, hand held device that is speech enabled, operates through a wireless LAN network and is tied in directly to the patient's records. This affords all hospital staff an instantly accessible record that is current with the patient's latest developments, doctor prescriptions and hospitalised scheduling. More than just an electronic bookkeeper, WARD IN HAND utilises a form of AI to remember "logical sequencing" based on workflow information. For example, a scheduled X-ray examination ordered by doctor sets in hand a series of consequential events. The examination room must be booked, the patient must be prepped, the wardens must be notified and so on. The WARD IN HAND can generate all the "paperwork" such an order would require, automatically scheduling the X-ray room, notifying the staff on duty of the time and even the type of X-ray required. Additionally, WARD IN HAND provides a form of quality control to scheduling and information input. Because it has the ability to incorporate workflows, it can identify conflicting information that might be provided from any source, like a double booking of the X-ray room, or inappropriate drug prescriptions, or inconsistencies in dosages. One area of concern remains the legalities regarding patient confidentiality that WARD IN HAND might neglect. Currently biometric solutions are being investigated for access to data, based on such advanced schemes as retina reading or voice/fingerprint recognition. WARD IN HAND however, has far greater appeal than just to hospital procedures. It could be used in a number of processes where complex and current information and procedures are required. Aside from cutting both costs related to time and procedures, WARD IN HAND also inspires great health care quality.
