DIGITAL FROM THE BEGINNING

University of Iowa Health Care has used some form of IT on its clinical side for decades, going from its own in-house solution to commercial, off-the-shelf solutions to the current third-party integrated system. That led to some problems over the years, including disparate systems that were unable to communicate with each other, Carmen says.

Dublin Methodist Hospital in Dublin, Ohio, and Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in suburban Denver, however, are two new-build facilities that were constructed with integrated clinical digital technology solutions in place.

Dublin Methodist, which opened in January, implemented a wide range of third-party technology products that work together. Integration from the ground up improves the quality of patient care, Herbert says.

"If we have a patient not doing well overnight, the attending physician can pull up a patient's record [remotely], review the current vital signs, and see what tests have been performed and the results," she says. "The physician can advise the nurse on how to proceed. It makes care that much more efficient."

Exempla Good Samaritan opened in 2004 with the same take on digital, says Exempla Healthcare's Pecoraro.

The facility is fully automated with CPOE and clinical documentation, while its sister hospitals, Exempla St. Joseph and Exempla Lutheran, each have a sophisticated emergency department automated system.

The Picis emergency department system includes all aspects of registering and triaging a patient, and it includes CPOE and discharge instructions to either the general care unit or to the patient's family physician. For patient satisfaction, Pecoraro says automation in the emergency department is vital.

"In many ways, the emergency department is the front door to your hospital," he says. "The efficient and effective care of those patients at the time of arrival is important. You want to take advantage of everything you've done in the ER and not repeat unnecessary tests."

Pecoraro estimates that there will be a 20% to 30% reduction in a patient's time in the emergency department because the technology will allow for more efficient processing.

"We also think there will be better consistency in the care we provide," he says. "The system is sophisticated enough to prompt physicians with risk alerts."

IMPROVING QUALITY OF CARE

This type of technology in the hands of clinicians will improve patient outcomes, reduce medication errors and lower the cost of a hospital stay.

University of Iowa's Carmen says the use of digital technology to study treatment protocols will allow the hospital to create clinical guidelines that will further improve outcomes in the future.

While Dublin Methodist has no data as of yet, Herbert is convinced that digital technology will reduce medical errors.

"Technology has allowed us to create a closed-loop medication system where the process is fully automated, from the time the medication is delivered from the supplier until the medication is delivered to the patient," she says. "We track our medication through the entire process with technology."

These and other benefits resulting from the implementation of digital technology will lead to lower hospital costs.

Ken Krizner is a Cleveland-based freelance writer.