News
Wireless technology gives Princess of Wales Hospital electronic
records at the point of care
13 May 2008
Clinicians at the Princess of Wales Hospital in South Wales are able
to access clinical information, including test results and patient
records, throughout the hospital using mobile devices as a result of the
innovative use of wireless technology.
Part of the Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust, the hospital has deployed a
Cisco wireless local area network (LAN) and wireless carts, with PCs,
laptops, and tablet PCs. These will help clinicians spend more time with
patients and deliver treatment faster by cutting out the need to go back
and forth to other departments or office-based PCs.
The wireless network allows clinicians to access records and record
information electronically at the point of care. Using the wireless
technology, clinical processes have been streamlined and improved.
Clinical information is recorded during the ward rounds, medications are
verified, and drug orders are placed electronically, building up the
discharge summary information as it happens.
Patients can leave the hospital soon after they are discharged
instead of waiting for the relevant administration work to catch up. As
soon as the patient is discharged from hospital the summary information
is transmitted electronically to their GP.
“The Cisco wireless technology at the Princess of Wales Hospital is
providing the opportunity to modernise the delivery of patient services.
Clinicians will have immediate access to clinical information at the
point of care. In the Emergency Department for example, consultants will
use a tablet PC to look at a patient’s pathology test results while at
the patient’s bedside,” said Carl Mustad, assistant director of
information technology at the Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust.
“The drive to improve efficiency at Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust is all
about making information available at the right time to the right
person, improving patient care and providing safer processes.”
The hospital also expects to extend the use of this wireless
infrastructure to help utilise medical equipment more efficiently. Using
Cisco’s wireless location technology to track and monitor devices, such
as ECG machines and infusion pumps, means they can be shared between
wards more effectively and devices more easily located.
The wireless solution at the Hospital has been
implemented by Stoneleigh Consultancy, a
Cisco
Premier Certified
Partner.
The wireless LAN solution at the Hospital is part of a wider
information management and technology improvement strategy by the Bro
Morgannwg NHS Trust.
This comprises Cisco fixed and wireless networking solutions at 80
hospital, community clinic and GP practice locations to help make
healthcare systems and information more readily available to clinicians.
The infrastructure will also provide a platform for the Trust to deploy
additional services such as voice over IP to replace hospital paging
systems, and radio frequency identification (RFID) to improve bed
availability management and offer better protection for vulnerable
patients.
“Taking advantage of network technology helps healthcare providers of
all sizes to improve collaboration and decision making among caregivers
and experts, leading to benefits such as cost-effective quality care,
easier access to patient information, more productive workflows, fewer
medical errors and redundancies, and faster diagnosis and treatment,”
said Terry Espiner, Cisco’s regional sales manager for healthcare.
“The use of Cisco wireless networking at the Princess of Wales
hospital will help ensure that doctors and nurses have the right
information at the right time to give patients better and faster
healthcare.”
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