Apple.com: “A community medical center near Philadelphia, Doylestown Hospital relies on a mobile workforce of 360 independent physicians to provide a highly responsive healing environment for thousands of patients. Those physicians stay connected 24/7 to colleagues and hospital staff with their first responder: Apple iPhone 3G. With iPhone, doctors get access to patients’ vital stats, medical reference applications, and breaking health alerts to provide collaborative and efficient patient care.†The article goes on to describe how the iPhone has physicians linked to the hospital’s exchange server and also allows them access to the hospital’s electronic medical records system (MEDITECH Client/Server 6.0) via the phone’s Safari browser. The mobile access certainly doesn’t have to be from an iPhone, but the popularity of the device has certainly sent creative minds in the right direction.
Blog
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Tablet recognition for safe dispensing…why not?
I recently spied a Twitter post regarding a “pill geometry” database. The idea of a database that houses the geometry of prescription tablets piqued my interest and sent my brain into overdrive. I don’t think that was the intention of the Twitter post, but it jump started by brain nonetheless.
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Safest and most efficient distribution model
Cardinalhealth.com: “The findings of this analysis demonstrated that in a decentralized medication distribution model, as the percentage of medications in an automated dispensing cabinet (ADC) is increased, there is a direct correlation with:
- Decreased time to initial dose
- Decreased missing doses
- Decreased pharmacist and pharmacy technician labor
- Decreased non value added nursing activities
- Increased predictability “
This is no surprise as many leaders in the pharmacy world have been trying to move to a decentralized distribution model for years. The biggest roadblock thus far has been cost and lack of automation. As automation improves and becomes more available and less costly, the decentralized scenario becomes more and more likely.
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First AGPS-Enabled Asthma Inhaler for Landmark Research Program
Newsguide.us: “US-based GPS product design firm, SiliconSky GPS, designs and develops a GPS-enabled asthma inhaler that will help a cutting edge epidemiology researcher to better understand asthma triggers. Our client needed the medical device to be compact enough for convenient daily use. To achieve that end, it took efficient circuit design and meticulous 3D modeling to fit the electronics, battery and antennae into a package the size of a Zippo lighter.” The use of technology to gather important data during studies is not only practical, but an important concept that can be extended to issues surrounding medication compliance in general.
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Cool Pharmacy Technology
Thin clients are computers that depend on a centralized server for processing power. They are simple devices that typically contain only the most basic hardware, and frequently do not contain a hard drive. Thin clients essentially serve as the interface to the server.
Thin clients are mostly inexpensive compared to traditional desktop PCs, and offer easier management and security secondary to their connection based on a singular source.
Our facility has plans to utilize the Dell thin client as a major component of our bedside barcode scanning system. Thin clients will be attached to monitor, keyboard, mouse and scanner creating a complete scanning solution in each patient room. The result is a simple, low maintenance platform.
I wouldn’t want to use a thin client computer as my primary work machine. I like to customize my work environment and they lack the flexibility. They are, however perfect when a secure, inexpensive solution is needed for use in high trafic areas like hospital wards.
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Pharmacists aren’t completely worthless after all.
An article in the most recent issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reports the results of adding a pharmacist to a health care team to offer up expertise on appropriate use of medication in heart failure and hypertension.
The results showed a 35% reduction in adverse drug events, a 48% reduction in preventable adverse drug events and a 37% reduction in medication errors. They did not analyze the economic impact. However, medication errors occur in at least 1.5 million people annually and add somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.5 billion a year to the cost of healthcare.
Now, about that raise….
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Digital Medicine Article in Business Week
A Business Week article this week took a look at the current state of electronic medical records (EMRs) and technology in healthcare. The author managed to deliver a mixed message without clearly differentiating between electronic medical records and patient safety issues. The article clearly focuses on the negative.
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CDC Recommendations for the Treatment of Swine Flu
The questions are being asked. Get the answers here.
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Windows 7 Ink Input and Tablet PC
Tablet PCs have tremendous value in a decentralized pharmacy model. I am a big fan and have been fortunate enough to have both a Director of Pharmacy and CIO that are supportive of technology and my desire to use it. Last year our department configured two tablet PCs to be used by our critical care and pediatric pharmacists. The tablets are primarily used on rounds to gather information on patients. While utilizing the tablets the pharmacists have full access to our Siemens Pharmacy System for the patient’s medication record and crucial labs. In addition, the pharmacists can access the nursing and physician clinical systems, giving them quick access to additional information such as H&Ps, physician progress notes, nursing progress notes, finger stick results and much more. The tablets have been well received by the pharmacists.
You can imagine my excitement when my brother sent me an interesting link to a “blog dedicated to the engineering of Microsoft Windows 7.” The page contains information specific to advances to the tablet PC input experience. Improvements to the writing pad were deperately needed and the addition of text prediction on the soft keyboard will be a welcome addition. I’m looking forward to the next generation of tablet PCs. Our department has plans to roll out an additional 5 tablets over the next 12 months. Maybe I can hold out for Windows 7.