In-Room Computers and Wall-Mounted Proximity Systems Computer WorkStations Deliver Increased Efficiency; Improved Pa...( Centerpoint Medical Center and...)

Centerpoint Medical Center and Houston-based Proximity Systems

WorkStations: one year later

HOUSTON, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- One year after installing 400 Proximity Systems Computer WorkStations, Centerpoint Medical Center offers favorable reviews and cites reasons why the customized, wall-mounted, retractable computer workstations are satisfying the needs of the hospital's nurses, physicians, patients, IT department and designers.

When Nashville-based Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) was in the planning and design stages for Independence, Missouri's Centerpoint Medical Center, the decision was made to place computers in each patient room of the 258-bed, level-2 trauma facility. "From a patient care; a convenience and a life-of-computer perspective, we decided that each patient room should be wired," said Shannan Pfeiffer, Centerpoint's Director of Information Technology and Services.

Improving efficiency was the key goal, according to Pfeiffer, but the concept also worked with important safety initiatives. Electronic Medical Records (EMR), for example, are used to validate "right patient, right drug, right dose, right time" before medications are administered. By placing the computers in the room this validation can be done quickly and accurately.

One thing the planning team wanted to avoid, however, was losing the personal interaction between caregiver and patient when the nurse was in the room reviewing records or charting care and medication. "We wanted to make sure our nurses were still talking to the patient and not to the computer," says Pfeiffer. The computers needed to be positioned to allow for the best possible face-to-face interaction. "In one respect it's just a matter of being polite and not turning your back on someone," she explains. On another level, when positioned correctly, patient and caregiver engage in a real conversation and communication is improved. The computer moves from
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