Technology Support for the Operating Room
Circulating nurses at the Baltimore Washington Medical Center modified their workspace and process three years ago when wireless technology was introduced in the hospital’s operating rooms, explains HealthLeaders.
Advantages noted from the integration include the ability to orient the mobile workstations; nurses can modify how they are seated based on the patient’s placement on the table or the type of procedure being completed. Alternatively, anesthesiology still uses pen and paper for documentation.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center introduced technology tools to support documentation and facilitate work flow when the new surgery center opened in 2006. MSKCC worked with LiveData and other vendors to develop a large screen monitor system in each operating room that contains information from patient monitors, patient demographic information, and the names of members of the surgical team. The system supports information sharing within the OR and can provide information to surgical team members as they enter the room.
Technology tools to undertake surgical procedures have been well integrated, for example the various instruments and technologies to support laparoscopic procedures. Now tools to support the entire operating room staff are being integrating to further expand documentation activities and information sharing.
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March 18, 2007 Related topics: Facilities, Surgery, IT & software