Nurses and doctors often voice the desire to go paperless. A recent report from International Data Corporation shows that about 40 percent of healthcare institutions have implemented paper reduction processes to operate a little greener. Although these efforts have improved a hospital’s environmental footprint, the costs of paper, ink, and daily printing are still skyrocketing. Who would have thought behind all the sophisticated medical procedures that paper processes are still expensive? Well, we’re here to provide some methods of solving perpetual paper problems that hospitals face consistently. The answers lie in technology.

Anesthesiology Enhanced with a Fanless Medical Computer

An anesthesia record is simply an account of drugs administered, procedures followed, and patient responses. Documenting it requires frequent sampling of data to ensure the patient is subdued during surgery. We’re sure millions of anesthesia administrations happen annually—one anesthesia paper record for every administration can add up over time. Plus, If you’ve ever seen an anesthesiology record for a patient, it’s almost like reading a difficult foreign language backwards. We trust in an anesthesiologist to read their own handwriting—as the rest of us may not be able to—but when transcribing it from the page to the screen as the common practice is today, that’s never a perfect two-step process. It’s basically doing double work, recording the results on paper and then entering that into the computer. Not only that, but the monitoring process is time-intensive and takes too much attention away from the patient. Wouldn’t it be nice to just track anesthesia with a computer directly? Ah, but there’s one problem. Regular computers aren’t allowed in an operating room during anesthesiology administration for surgery. That requires a dust-free environment to protect the patient, so an EMR system with fans wouldn’t do—unless you’re using a fanless medical computer.

The dual advantage of these computers is they protect the patient and they also streamline data sampling during anesthesiology administration, removing the paper process altogether. We’ve heard of use cases how some anesthesiologists were highly relieved that the process for data sampling was instant and didn’t need transcription—their computer did all the work and it saved them time. Not only does this save time, but it also allows the anesthesiologist to focus more on the patient, rather than on data entry. Suddenly, the tedious and error-prone process of paper data sampling turns into a process handled solely by the anesthesiology application. Imagine a stack of paper one million sheets high, one for every anesthesia operation done annually in a hospital and suddenly the savings are clear. 

Interoperability Still a Concern

Three surveys released in 2015 performed by researchers from the Office of the National Coordinator point to improved interoperability among hospital data systems. However, transmitting records from one EHR system to another was the least “improved-upon” function—clearly, efforts in improving interoperability have been made, but there’s still room to grow. So naturally, nurses and physicians resort to printing out records. Consider that printing out records consistently could lead to a drain on time and money—we shudder at how much ink still costs today. But the fact remains that there are still paper-heavy processes because of systems that don’t play nice with each other.

Large EMR systems, like Epic or Cerner, eliminate interoperability issues by bringing multiple applications and processes under one software. But in order for these complex software systems to work properly, you need a medical grade all in one computer that is compliant with their requirements. The high interoperability features of these software packages generally operate seamlessly, but it takes a computer powerful enough to run them. It’s not realistic to remove paper processes entirely—sometimes jotting down a note doesn’t really need a computer system—but we’re sure you can see a reduction in administrative costs from using the right kind of system coupled with high-interoperability software.

Registration Woes End with a Medical Grade Tablet

Paperwork—a dreaded life requirement that everyone faces at some point. It’s reported from some sources that patient registration on paper costs healthcare 45 billion dollars annually. Admissions packets average around 14 sheets of paper—multiply that per new patient, per day, and suddenly that price makes a lot of sense. Millions of hospital registrations happen annually, and with each paper-based registration, errors can be introduced and set procedures can lengthen registration time, and costs continue to climb. 

To specifically reduce administrative costs (and save the environment), patients and medical staff can all benefit from using a medical grade tablet so the process of entering patient information and storage is immediate. Attack one of the higher expenses in healthcare by using a tablet for administrative uses, reducing paper usage, curtailing ink usage, and even ensuring fewer errors with proper registration software.  

The way to a paperless future lies within technology; by using the right kind of medical grade all in one computer, your institution can see less of an investment in paper, ink, and costly printer repairs while also ensuring patients get the best available healthcare. In short, go green and save some green. Contact us to learn more.

 

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