The demands of an overworked, understaffed healthcare system lead to mistakes that can take time, cost money, and even reduce medical quality. Walking the fine line between patient confidentiality and the need for rapid access between doctors and other specialists means needing the latest in technology as well as training to keep everything flowing smoothly even when things get chaotic.
Chaos Leads to Mistakes
A crazy night in an emergency room is the perfect example. An emergent situation leads one medical professional to set down a clipboard temporarily, and follow up on an existing patient is missed. Another patient ends up stranded in a hallway waiting for a bed, forgotten due to a missed entry in the main system. A third received incorrect medication since a note from one chart wasnt transferred to another quickly enough, and meanwhile doctors on one floor wait in vain for input from a specialist two floors above.
Paper charts can get mislaid, drenched in coffee, or rendered indecipherable with a dozen different forms of handwriting. Data input can be rife with errors as harried staff try to meet the demands for immediate help coming from all sides. Valuable time is lost as doctors and nurses must be tracked down to verify and rectify incomplete or incorrect information, and clarify treatment protocols.
Portable Points of Access Can Help
A system that allows portable points of access which can be handed off as needed will streamline healthcare in busy settings. The capabilities of an ER with a rugged tablet assigned to every bed would mean faster, more effective patient care, ease of communication between staffers, and rapid sharing of notes, recommendations, lab results, and more. Patient histories and charts can be transferred to other beds, rooms, and floors with a quick click, and specialists can weigh in remotely with easy access to lab and test results and scans.
Durability and Connectivity Are Key
A rugged tablet is both portable and highly functional, allowing real time connectivity among health care professionals on and off site. There are no misplaced notes; med checks become faster and more accurate, and data can be added and sent seamlessly between devices on a secure hospital network.
Patient care improves exponentially when data availability is made a priority. Stressed health care professionals find the ability to share information on patients in real time leads to better outcomes, and human error is reduced when the data is readily accessible and verifiable.
The ability to seamlessly integrate notes and results from different departments and specialists and transmit them to those interacting one on one with patients is invaluable. Rugged tablets make perfect sense in a healthcare setting, and when used in tandem with larger computing systems like medical carts, they can revolutionize patient care.