Adapting Wireless Technologies in Healthcare

Electronic Medical Records (EMR) has captured the attention of practitioners, insurers and policy makers for years. With the enactment of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 which provides billions of stimulus dollars along with Medicare bonuses over the next 5 years, for those physicians that implement EMR systems, the interest has escalated.

EMR systems are a part of the larger patient safety debate and seen by some as a key component of any patient safety solution.

What is an EMR? EMR’s at its core is the ability to have historical patient data available in an electronic manner wherever the patient may be. It is a collection of electronic health information that provides immediate access by authorized users. EMR’s may involve knowledge and decision support tools that enhance safety as well as support of efficient processes for health care delivery.

With the emergence of secure and robust wireless technologies, a hospital or medical practice can achieve desired results during patient stays or visits by adapting electronic or digital bedside collection systems.

Traditionally nurses on duty would make their rounds and gather vital records on the patients. This information may include, body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and other key “vital “signs. All too often this information would be hand written in the patients charts which left margins for error.

With today’s technology this same key patient vital data is gathered electronically using tablet computers connected securely and wirelessly via WAP’s (Wireless Access Points) to a secure centralized EMR database. This scenario enables major benefits for the caregivers such as WI/FI printing, access to centralized databases, patient, physician information and IP based wireless phones with mobile applications just to name a few. The key element of such an implementation is ensuring that the wireless infrastructure is properly laid out and configured. Key questions need to be defined when undertaking this type of connectivity:

• Will the wireless infrastructure be used to accommodate voice traffic or RFID chips?
• What kind of data traffic will be routed, such as images, CT Scans or other large formats?
• What kind of failover or overlapping is required to ensure seamless coverage?
• Ensure that the data is encrypted and meets with all HIPPA requirements.

When considering such a deployment, a site survey is absolutely essential to ensuring a successful implementation. This process can take weeks, depending on complexity, size and access to common areas within the facility, but will eliminate countless efforts going forward that may be caused by interference, lack of WAP’s, data & voice traffic competing for bandwidth.

In this content, it becomes an absolute that the wireless infrastructure needs to support the bandwidth requirements as defined by the institution or practice.

Compliance is not possible by adopting consumer based wireless products, therefore herein lies some of the challenges. When considering undertaking the move towards wireless, physicians need to take a proactive approach with their due diligence. This process is not one that should be taken for granted as the results of a poorly defined wireless infrastructure can be significantly more costly than anticipated and have disastrous results.

Making sure that the chosen vendor has experience in the healthcare space. Have they implemented similar strategies for like sized practices? Have they accounted for site surveys, project planning and proof of technologies in their proposal?

With a properly designed and implemented wireless infrastructure, hospitals and physicians practices can successfully make the quantum leap towards EMR and reduce some of the inherent risk currently facing healthcare providers. Particularly in pre-existing facilities where retrofitting a wired infrastructure can prove to be a daunting and expensive task. By acting now institutions can leverage some of the available federal funds and start working towards a greater cause. That of reducing healthcare cost and mediating risk for the patient. These are not just byproducts of such an undertaken, but instead should be seen as a key component.