Clinical Information Systems Breed Efficiency
HIMSS attendees in the market for clinical information solutions are sure to find a system that nabs healthcare’s Holy Grail. That is, new solutions are addressing patient safety, efficiency and the bottom line, enabling healthcare enterprises to improve patient care while maximizing staffing resources and revenue. ED options, nursing solutions and RFID (radio frequency identification) systems are just a few of the highlights on the show floor. Stay tuned for more. Agfa HealthCare (Booth #6737) is introducing new patient-centric IT solutions designed to enable customers to make significant steps towards the automation of electronic clinical pathways. At HIMSS, Agfa is showing the iPlan Enterprise Scheduler and the Clinical Dashboard as works in progress. Agfa also is showcasing ORBIS, a works in progress full hospital and clinical information system (HIS/CIS).
The iPlan Enterprise Scheduler permits web-based scheduling throughout a hospital’s continuum of care.
The Clinical Dashboard allows one transparent and integrated view of all patient information from existing clinical systems.
Agfa is demonstrating automated clinical workflows including:- Patient Registration and entry into a variety of automated clinical paths
- Drag and Drop patients from an eWaiting list to the Graphical Unit View for heads up display of patient management and alerts
- Schedule or order any exam, anywhere
- A patient’s trip through the imaging portion of a clinical pathway in radiology or cardiology
- How results are distributed throughout the enterprise
- Process by which patients take home their records and manage their healthcare remotely
- How a Nurse Charting and Documentation module can optimally support the documentation requirements within the clinical nursing departments. Users can deploy a Graphical Workflow Designer to tailor the implementations to the specific needs of their clinical processes including assessments, care plans, interventions and discharge summaries.
GE Healthcare (Booth #441) is launching Centricity Enterprise Solution & Remote Services which offers integrated clinical, financial and administrative solutions via an ASP model. Hospitals using Centricity Enterprise Remote Services will have access to enterprise-wide clinical and financial applications, without the initial outlay required to purchase hardware and software, and without dedicating resources to implementing, maintaining and upgrading the software. Customers will utilize leading digital healthcare applications such as computerized order processing, nursing and physician documentation and electronic medication administration record (MAR), patient management, accounting, registration and scheduling.
HealthGate (Booth #860) is debuting Collaboration Architect, an online, permissions-based, collaboration/content management/workflow solution specifically designed to meet the needs of teams from multiple disciplines within a healthcare setting.
Collaboration Architect addresses collaboration/content management issues affiliated with clinical decision support and aids these needs for different departments that exist within hospitals to include everything from clinical documents (e.g. order sets, patient safety checklists, and patient education) to administrative documents (e.g. contracts, bylines, policies and procedures).
McKesson Corp. (Booth #1215) is sharing its portfolio of solutions designed to make healthcare safer and more efficient, including Patient Compass and Horizon Clinicals. The company also is highlighting its just-completed acquisition of Per-Se Technologies.
Patient Compass solution improves patients’ ability to pay bills by providing 24 x 7 online bill payment access. Patient Compass gives patients the ability to easily understand their financial obligations and the tools to pay their bills. By simplifying the billing experience, providers can increase cash flow, reduce self-pay A/R days and improve patient satisfaction.
Horizon Clinicals is a suite of next-generation, integrated solutions for physicians and other clinicians. It includes the Connecting Physicians offering, which leverages e-prescribing and online physician-patient communication solutions.
The Per-Se acquisition positions McKesson to offer a comprehensive portfolio of revenue cycle management solutions and clearinghouse connectivity and help its customers address consumer-directed healthcare, pay for performance and pricing transparency.
Meditech (Booth #310) is displaying Client/Server Release 5.6, which the company says represents a major shift in the design approach and workflow navigation of Meditech systems including desktop-based applications and a new interface to unify care teams and streamline care delivery. Specific new products being shown include Oncology Management and Scanning & Archiving.
Picis (Booth #6036) is unveiling three new features available in ED PulseCheck, its comprehensive and integrated emergency department information system (EDIS).
The native web-based software combines triage, patient tracking, physician and nursing documentation, risk management, charge management, integrated voice recognition, prescription writing and other features. New features — Aerial View, Automated Bar Code Medication Administration and Administrative Department Rules — further improve productivity and operational efficiency in the ED. Aerial View allows patient tracking and management throughout their stay using ED PulseCheck’s aerial view tracking board, which provides a central control view at a glance.
Automated Bar Code Medication Administration leverages bar code technology to provide additional information aimed at optimizing efficiency. Medical personnel can scan the wristband of the patient and then scan the packaging of the medication about to be delivered.
Administrative Department Rules allows hospitals to define parameters for decision making. For example, a rule can be established that when the number of patients in the waiting room exceeds a defined number, an administrator will be paged.
Precision Dynamics Corp. (PDC) (Booth #2020) is showcasing a series of patient bar code wristbands and other Auto ID products for positive patient identification.
PDC’s bar code wristbands, as well as patented Smart Band RFID (radio frequency identification) Wristbands, are used in hospitals to instantly and accurately capture and verify data for medication administration, point-of-care testing (POCT), transfusion, specimen collection/tracking, surgical site safety, patient billing and more.
New capabilities to Varian Medical Systems’ (Booth #3948) radiotherapy information management and treatment planning software make it possible to modify treatment plans with up-to-the-minute images generated during image-guided radiotherapy. Inspiration is anchored by the ARIA oncology information system, a robust solution that makes all administrative, clinical and financial information readily available to cancer care professionals when and where it is needed. Built using industry standard communication protocols and an open architecture design, ARIA provides unlimited enterprise-wide connectivity. Completely customizable to meet a facility’s specific needs, ARIA optimizes oncology processes, linking medical and radiation oncology data in one system. In addition, ARIA connects all the elements in the Inspiration environment in order to facilitate delivery of Varian’s Dynamic Targeting IGRT (image-guided radiotherapy). Tools for treatment planning, simulation, treatment delivery, and imaging, as well as respiratory gating and beam shaping, are interconnected and engineered to work together. Through standard processes, templates, and automation, clinicians can plan and deliver advanced forms of treatment efficiently, without slowing the flow of patients. For medical oncologists, the ARIA oncology information system is a complete chemotherapy management solution and patient electronic medical record (EMR). Patient history, referral information, review of systems, test results, performance status, progress notes, etc., are instantly accessible, allowing physicians and staff to make confident, informed decisions for their patients. ARIA automates daily tasks, unburdening staff of the time-consuming activities associated with redundant data entry and the need to manage and track paper charts.