Networking technologies

opinion

Emerging trends: the tablet PC

Can mobile devices evolve to meet the changing needs of today’s healthcare workers?
Motion Computing Vice President Nigel Owens reports.

July 2007

A recent survey revealed that nurses are unhappy about the amount of time they spend on paperwork. In a 10-hour period nurses spend less than four hours at the bedside, according to the survey — for the rest of the time they hunt for equipment and drugs or input data from paper forms into a central computer.

This duplication of effort not only wastes time but there is also a greater risk of errors being made through misread or misremembered instructions. Administration costs currently amount to as much as 6.4% of the UK’s GDP. It’s a daunting statistic.

If healthcare workers had real-time wireless access to patient records and information via a tablet PC or other handheld device, nurses could make on-the-spot decisions regarding patients’ care from up-to-the-minute chart information without leaving the patient’s bedside. They could prescribe the necessary treatment there and then, fully aware of current levels of medicine in stock (stock levels could be updated electronically and even re-ordered automatically based on the number of prescriptions issued).

The implementation of a virtually paperless system would also speed up the process of admitting and discharging patients. A patient admitted to A&E today can move through two or more departments and each time be asked the same questions about their condition and medical history. Huge amounts of duplicate paperwork are manually uploaded to a computer; the clock ticks as the frustration levels rise. With a wireless, electronic system, a patient only has to go through the procedure once. The record is instantly uploaded to a central computer system and available to all departments. The patient can then be treated quickly and efficiently — with benefits for both patient and staff.

The search is on for appropriate wireless devices to support healthcare workers — from clinicians to therapists — in their bid to be more mobile and efficient. While mobile phones, laptops and Blackberries enable mobile and flexible working across all industries, it is niche, tailored solutions that the healthcare sector is looking for.

The concept of a healthcare-specific wireless mobile system is not wishful thinking. Some innovative UK pilot projects in the UK are helping shed light on the real impact portable electronic devices can have in hospitals and other medical environments. In some tests, doctors saw a 40% reduction in the number of medication errors over the four-week period when tablet PCs were in use. And it has been estimated that using a portable device to enter data could cut mistakes made when administering drugs by up to 70%.

Healthcare workers clearly have highly specific mobile-working needs. These range from requiring access to unique critical information and healthcare processes from a variety of locations to needing a device designed to handle the rigorous demands of the healthcare environment — most specifically the prevention of infection. Likewise there are security issues to consider, eg to ensure that only authorised users can access sensitive patient data.

With a tablet PC, healthcare professionals have access to a powerful computer instead of a clipboard or patient file, giving them real-time access to a range of information wherever they are.

Practitioners carry on-the-spot access to critical clinical documentation and data with them. Working efficiency is greatly increased. The latest information is accessed quickly and accurately from remote locations through wireless access — from a remote office, an examination room, on ward rounds, or at a reception desk. A clinician can complete documentation at the point of care in substantially less time using the pen-input function on their tablet PC.

Picture archiving and communications systems (PACSs) can also be used in conjunction with tablet PCs to enable more efficient electronic storage and access to digital images used for medical consultations and image viewing in departments such as orthopaedic surgery, obstetrics and cardiology. With mobile access to a PACS system through a tablet PC, staff can conduct comparative studies, consult and share with other professionals, as well as educate patients on conditions.

Clinicians with a tablet PC can access research information and diagnostic help wirelessly — drug descriptions, potential drug interactions, disease states and relevant case studies — whatever they need, wherever they are. In addition, mobile consultants, hospital interns or nurses working outside the hospital can access and complete information or training programmes for continuing education directly onto the tablet PC.

Greater healthcare worker mobility benefits the overall delivery of care as efficient patient service and outcomes are improved. Integrating a tablet PC in the diagnostic process also improves accuracy, reduces costs and simplifies workflows — something that all healthcare organisations are striving to achieve.

Handheld devices have become part of everyday life outside a hospital. With growing support from practitioners, management and patients, they might just help transform lives inside a hospital too.

Nigel Owens is Vice President and EMEA General Manager at Motion Computing. See www.motioncomputing.co.uk.