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4 Tips to Manage This Year’s Flu Season

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As every winter, the annual flu season — and the subsequent flu season panic — is upon us.

While the flu can be uncomfortable at best and downright deadly at worst, there is good news: 2018/2019’s outbreak is turning out to be much milder than last year’s devastating season.

The other good news is that medical techniques, and medical technology, have never been more prepared for it. From heightened awareness and public education to better medication and bacteria-resistant medical computers, the flu has a formidable foe this year.

1. Don’t Panic: the Numbers Are Down

Make no mistake — the flu can be extremely dangerous, and will cause fatalities throughout the country. The elderly and the very young are in the most danger, which is why it’s advised that those groups especially get a flu vaccination.

For the 2017/2018 flu season, deaths from flu topped 80,000, a tragic record. Last season had the highest number of fatalities and hospitalizations in the last ten years. This year is already looking milder, with deaths from flu and pneumonia far below the usual range this season, according to the CDC.

This doesn’t mean there should be no concern —  as we approach the peak of the season, infections will increase, as will hospitalizations. And, the flu season can sometimes last all the way into March, giving plenty of time for conditions to change.

But, clinicians like Dr. Stephen Schneckel, VP of Population Health Quality in Iowa report that they’re “not seeing as many cases as we did last year.”

2. Visit Up-To-Date Clinics with the Newest Technology

Sneezing into your elbow and using lots of hand sanitizer is still a great idea, but luckily medical computers and other technology found in hospitals and doctor’s offices are also helping to battle influenza.

Modern offices have medical computers made with antimicrobial plastic that kill bacteria on contact. Since computers are such a hotspot of use (and thus, passing bacteria from hand to hand), these advances are extremely helpful in reducing infections of all kinds for staff and patient alike.

Fanless medical computers are also being used in offices and hospitals to combat the spread of germs. Computers typically require a fan to keep internal components cool. While this keeps the computer operational, the fan spread germs and bacteria through the air. Fanless cooling technology eliminates this type of air circulation, mitigating the risk of airborne infection.  

These medical computers are also be sealed for liquid and particle intrusion (IP65 rating), meaning they can be frequently sprayed down and scrubbed with disinfectant to stop any viruses or bacteria from lingering on the surface.

The modern, fully-updated doctor’s office or hospital with this kind of technology is going to be a far safer place to visit because of these germ-fighting innovations. 

3. Don’t Wait: Flu Shots Are Everywhere

Vaccines have proven incredibly potent against influenza. This year, doctors and specialists are reporting that the shot may be particularly effective. Richard Webby at the CDC says that the current shot can reduce the risk of having to seek medical care for flu “by 40%.”

The vaccine that’s been prepared this year matches (and thus targets) the most common strain of H1N1 that’s been going around this season, a fortunate break that puts the shot at maximum efficacy. Vaccines are, in a way, a kind of guess. It’s impossible to inject a vaccine for every possible strain of the flu into every single person, so doctors and experts make an educated guess — backed by observation and statistics — as to which strains will prove the most harmful or the most virulent. These vaccines are then given to the public.

A vaccine isn’t a bullet-proof vest, but it can help reduce the worst of the inherent risk.

Luckily, flu shots are more readily available now then they’ve ever been. Beyond doctor’s offices and hospitals, there are drug stores, colleges, employers, and even grocery stores that host doctors and other clinicians to administer the shot.

Innovations in the shot itself have also been spreading. Many clinics are offering the LAIV (live-attenuated influenza vaccine), a nasal spray that takes the place of the flu shot for those unable to get the regular injection.

Mobile medical clinics are also making the rounds in metropolitan areas. These mobile clinics are usually fully equipped — you can enter your information in a medical tablet or mounted panel PC, get the shot, and then be on your merry way with one more concern off your plate.

4. Stay as Isolated As You Can

You don’t have to pack up your things and move to a Tibetan mountaintop or anything, but there are wise precautions to take to limit your exposure to the virus.

At work or school, during flu season, avoid using anyone else’s phone, computer, stapler, etc. Any frequently-handled item is going to be a danger zone, so stick to your own gear.

Borrowing or browsing someone else’s cell phone in particular should be avoided at all costs, and you should clean your own phone as often as you can: a study by the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences at the University of Arizona found that the average cell phone has “10 times more bacteria than most toilet seats.”

And, lastly, if you are sick don’t go to work. Don’t go to school. Don’t visit with your grandparents. Take care of yourself as best as you can, open up the windows to get some fresh air (weather permitting), and allow yourself to convalesce. If you’re worried about losing productivity, remember that making the whole office or classroom sick is about as productivity-crushing as burning the building down.

It’s Not Too Late to Get a Vaccine

Yes, the flu seasons is already upon us, and yes the vaccine can take a week or two to kick in. However, “flu season” is the name of a yearly trend, it’s not a locked closet that the flu can’t escape.

There’s plenty of flu season left, and there are plenty of folks who come down with the flu outside of the season. And even if you do end up getting infected after receiving the shot, the length and severity of the illness may be greatly decreased because of the vaccine.

With fully-stocked mobile clinics and easy-to-clean medical computers, it’s never been easier or more effective to get a flu shot and ride out the rest of the year in peace.

Contact Cybernet to learn more about deploying medical computers and tablets with antimicrobial housings and fanless cooling systems to fight infection.

 

How Technology Prevents HIPAA Violations

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HIPAA violations are growing in number and cost, and have affected medical facilities of all sizes.

While training and vigilance on the part of administrators and staff is a vital component to HIPAA compliance, the right technology can turn an open book into a bank vault. From secure medical grade all-in-one computers to software to online tools, here are some of the best ways technology is making ePHI (electronic protected health information) more secure.

HIPAA violations and costly fines don’t have to be an inevitability.

How Bad is It?

HIPAA violations and fines are practically raining from the sky. 2018 saw significant data breaches, some that affected millions of patients.

In January of 2018, it was revealed that the data of 30,000 patients was stolen by hackers from Florida Medicaid when an employee fell for a phishing email.

Also in January, a medical group in New York had a record breach that had nothing to do with malicious intent. A misconfigured database with an unsecured port accidentally exposed the data of 42,000 people to anyone who stumbled across it. Social security numbers, patient notes, and even names of family members were all up for grabs.

In April, the Center of Orthopaedic Specialists in California got hit by ransomware that may have exposed 85,000 patient records to hackers. In September, three hospitals settled a $1 million dollar fine for potentially compromising patient privacy while they were filming a documentary for ABC.

And, of course, Anthem paid a record-breaking $16 million in fines and violation settlements for a breach that affected 79 million patients. They were given a hefty penalty for not only the breach itself, but for failing to implement adequate access controls, not conducting a risk analysis before it happened, and for not regularly reviewing system activity to keep an eye on red flags.

Almost all of these breaches could have been prevented or mitigated by better technology, more robust security software, and improved employee education.

Online Training Programs Can Educate Staff Members

Hacking is a multi-headed hydra that is more than just ransomware and worms. “Social engineering” describes all of the methods deployed by hackers to gain access to secure systems from regular people in an organization.

Social engineering tactics can vary wildly, from dressing like an electrician to get access to a sensitive area, to calling up an employee and pretending to be an IT tech who needs their information, or even just employing a malware program that requires a victim to click, open, download, or install something they shouldn’t have.

Consider enrolling staff members into an online HIPAA compliance course, or a general data security training program. If you’re afraid of employees falling asleep during a dry infosec video, try SecurED, a data security training course that was actually written in part by Hollywood comedy writers.

And if you want the real skinny from an expert, world-famous hacker Kevin Mitnick actually created his own security awareness training to help illuminate the best techniques for avoiding malicious software and social engineering.

Install Security Software on All Devices

Cloud storage attached to medical all-in-one computers, medical tablets, and personal devices must be encrypted. Any messages, data, or images that back up to a cloud service are just as susceptible to interception as messages sent from one user to another.

Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive aren’t automatically encrypted, and expose a weak point in any system. The solution isn’t to stop using cloud services — backing up data has never been more important — but to instead use a secure cloud storage program like Sookasa to encrypt files before they enter a cloud storage folder.

It also may be wise to consider HIPAA compliance tracking software like HIPAATrek. This software, and other brands like it, create a one-stop-shop for all current HIPAA regulations, training, assessments, risk analysis surveys, checklists, and a whole host of compliance tools to keep any medical facility in the green and out of the fast-growing list of HIPAA horror stories.

Secure Accounts with Two-Factor Authentication

A single password and login for staff members aren’t sufficient for sensitive accounts. Passwords can be guessed, cracked, or collected fairly easily, especially if employees aren’t maintaining proper password etiquette.

Two-factor authentication is recommended by all security professionals at this point, and a failure to do so could have dire consequences for any organization under HIPAA authority.

Smart cards, custom RFID tags, and biometric scanners can provide the physical authentication, while a PIN or password can be used in conjunction to add an extra layer of security. Medical all-in-one computers or medical tablets with built-in RFID and biometric scanners are highly recommended for this purpose because they are far more reliable than a USB scanner plugged into an off-the-shelf office computer.

Plus, USB readers are portable and have a tendency to get lost or disappear. Misplacing an integrated medical panel PC is slightly more difficult.

Only Use Messaging Software with HIPAA Associate Agreements

Texting and easy picture-sharing have completely changed the way our society communicates, even in the workplace.

However, HIPAA’s security standards mean that doctors and nurses can’t be as free as the general populace. While texting a coworker a question might seem innocuous, it can lead to breached confidentiality and a hefty fine if it contains patient details. Ditto for sending pictures — getting a second opinion from another nurse about a suppurating wound isn’t a bad idea in theory, but may, in fact, be a violation of HIPAA standards.

For workplace communication, make sure work devices are installed with encrypted messaging software from a HIPAA associate. If your practice is using a BYOD policy, make sure those devices have the same level of encryption. Or, it may be a wise idea to abandon a BYOD policy altogether — they’ve been shown to invite massive security breaches.

A messaging app made by a business under a HIPAA associate agreement is certified to provide the necessary security to meet HIPAA standards.

There are quite a few HIPAA compliant texting apps, like TigerConnect and OhMD, that can make a major difference in cybersecurity. Many of these apps, or similar email encryption programs (like Barracuda or Virtru ) can also be installed on medical tablets and medical all-in-one computers, creating an easy, encrypted communication system for any facility.

Don’t Forget the Real World

Consider those hospitals fined for filming a documentary — not all patient confidentiality breaches come from computer hackers.

Even something as simple as the placement of a computer screen or patient monitor can have HIPAA implications. Medical all-in-one computers with built-in privacy screens can reduce the angle where a monitor is readable, while a computer on wheels can be rotated away from prying eyes.

Cameras and video recording are obviously off-limits, but sometimes staff can be tempted by the social media machine in their pocket. A perfectly harmless photo from the wrong angle can unknowingly capture sensitive information on a chart, or the face of a patient in the background.

Of course, a malicious low-tech data thief could also snap a quick picture of sensitive information while a doctor’s back is turned.

Technology can help, of course, but common sense is even more important. Keep an eye on your surroundings, especially when viewing ePHI, to maintain maximum data security.

Employ and Document Digital Security Methods Today

A three-pronged approach of education, technology, and vigilance should hopefully keep any doctor’s office, hospital, or clinic away from major HIPAA violations. Even should a lax staff member cause a breach, a thorough and documented history of implementing all of these techniques should also lower the culpability and any potential fines for the organization.

Contact Cybernet today to learn more about medical all-in-one computers and medical tablets with built-in two-factor authentication, Imprivata single-sign-on compatibility, and built-in privacy screens.

 

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How to Prepare for the Future of Medical Imaging

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Reading, understanding, and making a diagnosis from a radiological or other medical scan is no easy feat, even for expert radiologists and doctors.

Sometimes, signs get missed, visual illusions appear in the scan, or important factors get obscured. This is called “interpretive error,” and it means the scan was read or interpreted incorrectly.

“Interpretive error” is still a huge nightmare for hospitals, patients, and doctors. In a study from April of 2017, published in the American Journal of Roentgenology, it was found that the rate of interpretive error in radiology hasn’t changed significantly since 1949. With almost 70 years of technological progress between now and then, how is that possible?

And what can be done to improve it?

In Medical Imaging, High-Quality Visuals Are King

In the study mentioned above by the AJR, perceptual errors “account for 60 to 80% of interpretive errors.” This just means that either the scan or the method of viewing the scan was unclear, and a mistake was made.

Beverly P. Wood M.D., at the USC School of Medicine, described the process very much like learning how to read. She writes that the radiologist or tech must hone their skill through long practice, creating a “mental library of images and patterns” and instinctively learn how to interpret them correctly. She also stresses that visual stimuli are the most important markers for human perception, and that “at least 80% of incoming stimuli are visually based.”

Which is exactly why it’s so important that medical monitors and medical panel PCs be high resolution, offer a solid refresh rate, and have a bright display. The key to more accurate readings is to make sure that imaging techs and clinicians have the best set of eyes on the problem.

The New Tech on the Block

As computer processors speed up, medical imaging has taken a great leap forward.

Today’s widescreen, 4k medical computers are high-definition, certified for EN-60601-1 and UL60950, and can even include antiglare technology that provides a crisp and clean picture for spotting even the smallest details of a scan no matter the lighting conditions.

Of course, the hardware underneath the screen is also pushing the future of medical imaging tech ever closer.

Make Better Decisions with 3D Imaging

Increased processing and data transfer speeds have allowed 3D imaging to move from grainy, artifact-laden images to true three-dimensional tomography with volumetric rendering.

CT scans can create full 3D maps of veins and arteries, brain tissue, tumors, skeletal structure, and even exact organ placement.

State-of-the-art medical monitors, combined with purpose-built imaging devices, allow these near sci-fi levels of medical imaging and radiology to be used by hospitals around the world.

Soak Up Fewer Rays with Ghost Imaging

A new form of 3D imaging, “ghost imaging” or “ghost tomography” exposes the patient to fewer x-rays while still maintaining a visual picture.

Ghost imaging uses two x-ray beams of the same phase and intensity. One of these beams is fired at the primary target to be imaged (i.e., the patient), while the other is fired at a special panel to serve as a “control” beam. The difference in intensities between the two beams are then calculated on a computer and used to create an image.

While this can be done with various kinds of EM radiation on the spectrum, when done with x-rays it can create medical scans with far less radiation exposure to the patient.

This not only reduces chances of cancer and other harmful side-effects, but it also means the patient can get more frequent scans should they have to without increased radiation exposure.

The tech is still early days, but once the visuals are improved ghost imaging could represent a huge sea change in imaging tech.

Improve Point-of-Care Diagnosis with Portable Ultrasound Machines

Portable ultrasound devices are already moving into the market. Though expensive at the moment — upwards of $4,000 — pocket ultrasound devices like the GE Vscan may ultimately replace the common stethoscope as the go-to portable diagnosis device for clinicians.

Handheld ultrasound devices are roughly the size of a jumbo cell phone, and come with a small probe attached by a thin cable. This probe takes the place of the usual ultrasound “wand,” but at a fraction of the size.

The pocket ultrasound can hear and visualize heartbeats, providing healthcare workers with far more accurate and detailed data right at the first point of care.

There are also options like the Philips Lumify, an ultrasound app that can be used on any smartphone or medical tablet in conjunction with a USB transducer probe that plugs into most standard devices.

See More with Advanced AI

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are best for taking massive amounts of data and combining it to find patterns and categorize information. As anyone who works in or near the medical field is aware, there’s no shortage of work finding patterns and categorizing information.

Companies like LG and Samsung, for instance, have announced that they’re using AI algorithms to improve the accuracy of their imaging devices. These pattern-detecting and image-extrapolating programs are able to take only partial or obscured scans and render them fully visible via sampling and educated extrapolation.

These scans can detect lung nodules hidden by rib bones, or help increase breast cancer diagnoses by up to 5%, especially amongst younger or inexperienced doctors.

Advanced AI coupled with modern imaging hardware can even detect cartilage thickness or determine whether a stroke is being caused by a hemorrhage or a blood clot.

Embedding Medical Panel PCs into Imaging Machines

Medical machine manufacturers are making better use of existing medical computers, medical tablets, and medical panel PCs to serve as the brains and interfaces for their imaging machines.

Why reinvent the wheel and design a computer from the ground up in addition to a high-tech imaging machine when there are plenty of medical computers perfectly designed to do the job? A medical panel PC with a touchscreen interface is simple to use, and can even come with features like antimicrobial housing, fanless design, and IP65 certification.

The antimicrobial housing creates a hostile environment for bacteria, preventing them from growing on the PC and spreading to other users. The fanless design prevents the computer from pushing air around and potentially spreading airborne contagions. And the IP65 rating means two very important things for medical machines:

First, it means that the computer can be sprayed down with disinfectant and other cleaning solutions and wiped clean without damage to the device.

The IP65 rating also means that the case is hardened against physical particle intrusion, preventing dust, dirt, and other mediums from entering the case.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

Staying up to date on medical imaging technology is a moving target, but visuals, processing power, and innovation will always be key components to radiological, ultrasonic, or tomographic scanners of any kind.

Contact Cybernet to learn more about how medical monitors and medical panel PCs can augment and improve medical imaging machines.  

 

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Reducing Unnecessary Hospital Visits with Telehealth

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It’s no secret that medical facilities are understaffed, overcrowded, and often underfunded. Patients seem to be shipped in by the truckload, and factors like staffing shortages and doctor burnout have many professionals worrying about increased wait times and decreased patient satisfaction.

Unnecessary hospital visits only expound these common problems, choking up emergency departments, urgent care facilities, and even doctor’s offices with patients who would have been just fine at home.

Luckily, the industry of telehealth has made great strides in reducing these visits, especially in the fields of home care, telemonitoring, and chronic illnesses. Add to that the possibility that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may be expanding the number of telehealth services covered by Medicare, and you’ve got a full-blown industry boom brewing.

But how can hospitals and medical practices leverage telehealth to save time, money, and mental energy?

Where is telehealth most effective?

Telehealth Reduces Nursing Home Hospitalizations

Nursing homes are only growing more crowded as one of the largest generations — the Baby Boomers — age. And since the elderly are frequently hospitalized for numerous different reasons, nursing homes are a perfect launching point for telehealth services.

Some nursing homes have already partnered with medical groups and vendors to use long-distance doctor’s visits to lighten the load on nearby hospitals.

Central Island Healthcare, a nursing facility in New York, had telemedicine experts train their nurses. These nurses were then able to use medical tablets and medical grade PCs to give their nursing home residents long-distance doctor visits without leaving their rooms. Instead of constantly shuttling nursing home residents to and from hospitals, the nurses were able to help the patients get diagnosed and even prescribed medication over a Skype-style video chat with a doctor.

This reduced hospital visits of nursing home residents from 25 a month to 14. Doctors, over medical computers, were able to see the patients and help them, but without all of the attendant hassle for both parties.

Another added benefit of telehealth for elderly patients — they’re unlikely to contract a nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infection from the comfort of their own rooms. And considering that the elderly are typically at the most risk from common hospital-acquired infections like pneumonia, telehealth could literally save lives.

What About Nursing Hotlines? Do They Work?

Perhaps one of the earliest forms of telehealth is “telephone triage,” more commonly known these days as a “nurse hotline.” Nurse hotlines allow patients to call a number — usually provided by their insurance — to get quick medical advice from a nurse.

There’s little doubt to their efficacy — a study by the University of Southampton in the UK found that a well-staffed nurse hotline can reduce the number of both ambulance dispatches and hospital admissions in the area, with a relatively low error rate.

However, telephone triage lacks the greatest strength of modern telehealth: nurses aren’t allowed to diagnose conditions or prescribe medication. For those procedures, a doctor is required.

Plus, the nurses are only able to talk to the patient over the phone, and can’t see them or be shown symptoms or wounds. And while nurses are incredible at their jobs, that’s a difficult position for any clinician to be in. Modern telehealth devices far surpass the limitations of a simple phone call, and smartphones, tablets and computers can all be used to upgrade the old telephone triage hotlines into full-scale telehealth services.  

Telehealth Monitoring Leads to Fewer Visits to the Emergency Room

Close to 75% of all healthcare expenditures are spent on chronic illnesses. They’re also the cause of 70% of the deaths in the United States.

However, telehealth monitoring may be a highly effective weapon to combat this problem. Telehealth monitoring uses a device to record vitals like heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar. A home monitor that is integrated with a medical device computer then sends the information to the doctor, who is able to monitor sudden drops and changes. With doctors receiving real-time updates, it’s far easier to treat flare-ups and complications of a patient’s diagnosed chronic illness.

This monitoring can also take the form of digital doctor’s appointments, where the doctor speaks to the patient over a video call. The appointment then goes much like any regular in-person visit, especially when the doctor already has all the patient’s vitals courtesy of the telemonitoring system.

An exhaustive report of multiple studies from medical groups, universities, and hospitals found a wealth of useful data about how telemedicine, particularly telehealth monitoring, made a huge difference to cost, engagement, hospital admissions, and mortality rates for patients with chronic illnesses like cancer, diabetes, arthritis, pulmonary disease, and heart disease.

Over multiple studies, mortality rates from chronic diseases monitored by telehealth were reduced anywhere from 15% to 56% depending on the study. After having a stroke, patients who used telehealth monitoring had a reduced mortality rate of 25% for the first year after the original stroke.

The study concluded that a massive wealth of evidence points to telehealth “reducing hospitalization and emergency department visits,” “preventing and/or limiting illness severity,” which resulted in “improved health outcomes.”

A separate study of veterans with chronic illnesses found a 19% reduction in hospital admissions and a 25% reduction in the number of bed days. They also found that the telehealth treatment cost less, and produced excellent satisfaction scores from the veterans who used it.

What Does the Future of Medicine Look Like?

The future has already arrived for many telehealth technologies.

Dedicated virtual care centers, facilities whose sole purpose is to provide long-distance care for patients, already exist. Mercy Virtual, a dedicated virtual hospital in Chesterfield, Missouri, doesn’t have a single patient bed on the premises. Instead, nurses, clinicians, and doctors in the facility (or working remotely) communicate solely via medical computers to diagnose and treat patients.

Another sci-fi tech, virtual reality, is already being used to train doctors and perform long-distance surgery. In addition, there is some evidence that virtual reality immersion techniques, used from the safety of home, could be used by psychiatrists and patients to treat disorders like anxiety, depression, PTSD, and even intense phobias.

Obviously, some of these more advanced techniques are in their infancy, but it does show that telehealth is being taken seriously as a treatment style that could have huge positive benefits.

Telehealth Today

It’s clear that healthcare has a problem with rising costs, patient wait times, and clinician burnout. Luckily, cutting-edge telehealth technology like camera-equipped medical tablets and medical computers, along with telehealth training, could take a massive load off of overworked healthcare professionals.

Right now, only 15% of physician practices are using telemedicine. Any new technology takes time to proliferate, but with telehealth showing huge leaps in cost savings, patient health, and reduced hospital visits, it’s a technology that simply can’t be ignored.

How can your practice benefit best from telehealth? Is your medical computer equipment up to the task of the streaming, video-recording, multimedia demands of the burgeoning telehealth future?

To find our more information contact Cybernet here.

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4 Ways Telehealth Is Improving Patient Care

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Telehealth is the practice of using medical grade computers and medical tablets to provide health care remotely. Telehealth practices put doctors in closer contact with distant patients, save time and energy with instant communication, and improve point-of-care services with accurate and detailed information. As our world becomes more and more connected, such practices will assume increasingly larger roles in the medical industry.

The practice of telehealth requires specific medical computers set up for such duties. When used properly, they can improve patient care in a number of ways, which is the ultimate goal for any medical organization. Four of the most prominent means are discussed below.

Time is a Factor in Wound Care

Immediate trauma usually requires immediate treatment, especially when it comes to physical injury and wounds. Getting to the emergency room can take up a great deal time, however, and yet the physician won’t be able to perform a diagnosis until the patient arrives on-site. That can lead to issues with dressing and care of the wound, and in some cases can even make the injury worse.

Telehealth practices provide a valuable advantage here. Using a tablet PC, the EMT can take a picture of the wound and send it to the hospital while the patient is en route. That allows the physicians to perform a preliminary diagnosis – including determining the cause of the wound, the extent of the damage, and any further danger to the patient, if any – without having to wait until the patient reaches them. That, in turn, allows them to recommend proper dressing and initial care for the wound, which can help stabilize the injury and minimize the damage. It also allows them to prep X-ray machines if broken bones are a factor and clear similar devices for immediate use when the patient arrives: further reducing the time required to treat the injury.

Rural Services Can Extend Their Reach

Not every patient can readily reach a care facility. People in rural areas, for instance, may be many miles from a proper hospital, while shut-ins and patients without ready means of transportation might be physically unable to reach care even if it’s not that far away. Physicians can schedule house calls, but it takes an effort to reach a distant patient, which limits the number of people they can treat in a given day and wastes a great deal of time in transit.

According to a 2017 study from American Well, 69% of U.S. adults believe that video conferencing will provide the best overall care (as opposed to merely 26% who thought a phone call would be best, and 5% who thought an email would be best). The same study also found that patients tend to trust their primary care physicians more than doctors who they do not know.

Telehealth practices allow doctors to virtually visit these patients. The physician can perform a diagnosis, prescribe medication, consult on long-term care, and even take readings with help from the patient or a local caregiver. That cuts down on transit time and allows patients without ready access to health care to receive qualified treatment. Telehealth allows PCPs to give their distant patients genuine face time, which reduces anxiety as well as allowing the patient to remain in comfortable and familiar surroundings.

Mobile Clinics and “Street Medicine” Practices Are Much Improved

Mobile clinics are a vital service to many communities, allowing doctors to travel anywhere with advanced medical devices in tow. According to a study by The American Journal of Managed Care, there are some 2,000 mobile clinics operating in the United State, 44% of which offer primary care services. They can include anything from bloodmobiles collecting donations at schools or offices to “street medicine” services providing care for the homeless and other at-risk demographics.

Telehealth practices can improve such services by keeping the mobile clinic in touch with experts and facilities they might not have otherwise. There are only so many staff members one can place in a mobile clinic, after all, and only so many pieces of equipment that can be practically placed on the vehicle. But telehealth can connect the station back to the hospital: sending patient data for analysis, consulting medical experts who wouldn’t otherwise be accessible, and connect the team on the street to the same resources a patient would have were they to receive care in the hospital itself.

For example, consider a mobile clinic serving a homeless shelter, including a patient with a skin condition that can’t readily be identified. By the time the staff back at the hospital pinpoints the condition, the patient may be long gone and unable to be readily found. But a connection via a medical tablet PC allows the staff to instantly consult a dermatologist back at the hospital, and receive both a diagnosis and a recommendation for long-term treatment in a single session.

Bedside Treatment Becomes Much More Convenient

Telehealth practices aren’t limited to locations outside the hospital or care facility. Patients being treated in a given clinic may not be able to leave their beds, or can do so only with great difficulty, which complicates their treatment considerably. There is a considerable benefit to being able to bring a computer on wheels right up to the patient’s bed, not only for a specialist or primary care physician to conduct a consultation while they’re off-site, but for fast diagnoses in the middle of the night or during similar periods when a specialist might not be on hospital grounds.

Consider the case of nursing homes, for instance. Many homes offer visits from physicians for their residents, but don’t have a doctor on permanent staff. Yet residents often have limited mobility and if they require treatment after the doctor has left for the day, it might entail an ambulance trip to the hospital: wasting precious time and putting the patient under unnecessary physical strain. Telehealth practices allow the nursing staff to contact the doctor, wheel a medical cart computer right to the patient’s bedside, and get a diagnosis and treatment plan in a fraction of the time and effort it would take otherwise.

Cybernet Manufacturing offers medical tablets with the features required to smoothly integrate telehealth practices with the remainder of your operation. Contact us today to explore your options.

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Understanding How Medical Computers Enhance EMR Capability

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Technology in hospitals has advanced greatly towards automation and electronic document storage to improve the lives of patients and facilitate the jobs of medical professionals. As of 2015 96% of all non-federal acute care hospitals had adopted basic EMR software. Even in rural areas adoption was at 80% – up from just 53% as recently as 2013. As with all tools, however, adoption isn’t enough. How you use a tool determines if you are maximizing its effectiveness and your ROI. Since the introduction of EMR systems, medical computers have presented new methods of accessing healthcare information and services. Here’s a brief look at how these systems are changing healthcare information roles.

Making Charting Less of a Time Drain

Probably the most dramatic shift since the widespread adoption of EMR software has been in how patient charting is done. In the past, charting was a paper process that took up hours of a nurse’s time each shift, taking away from actual time spent on patient care. Even today however, some hospitals and facilities still require nurses to do their charting at the nurses station, which means that time is still wasted transcribing data into the EMR software. Time that could be spend tending to patients.

Medical cart computers that are certified to run EMR software can help alleviate tedious processes like this. Instead of charting at a central location, nurses can go room to room, administering to their patient’s needs, and chart in “real-time”. What sets these computers apart from regular commercial grade computers is two-fold. First and foremost, they are medically certified devices that have been cleared for near patient use. Second, they use integrated RFID, fingerprint and smart card readers to ensure secure log-in, keeping patient data safe and secure as mandated by HIPAA.

Making Anesthesiology Safer

There is no time when a patient is more vulnerable or when a hospital’s risk and liability are greater than when surgery is being performed. The role that anesthesiologists play in mitigating both risks can’t be understated. Unfortunately, a lot of facilities still use antiquated processes when it comes to anesthesiology. There are certain realities that must be adhered to in an operating room. The sterile nature of the rooms and regulations regarding electrical medical equipment often times leads to anesthesiologists being forced to monitor patients and record vital information on paper. We’ve even heard of one example where the anesthesiologists were monitoring the patient from outside of the operating room because their equipment was deemed safe for near patient use. This is a massive liability that is easy to fix.

Medical computers are built and designed for these applications. Fanless medical computers are safe for sterile environments. A true medical computer will also be UL60601-1 certified for near patient use and IP65 rated for cleaning and disinfection. Large displays with touchscreens also make it easier for the anesthesiologist to enter patient vitals, meaning there is less time doing data entry and more time administering to the patient. Here’s one example of one of the advanced surgical centers in the country made the switch to fanless medical computers in their operating rooms to enhance their patient care.

 

 

Remote Patient Care

It’s not always the case that patients are able enough to travel to a doctor’s office. Disabled individuals and shut-ins will need in-home care. Mobile health clinics might be necessary in rural areas. Mobile clinics are also an important pieces of the healthcare puzzle in underserved areas. There are several reasons why an individual might not be able to gain reliable access to healthcare on their own. But mobile technology now allows healthcare to come to them, if not in their homes, at least in a more convenient location to them.

Medical grade tablets have completely changed healthcare. In-home nurses can bring these devices with them and record patient information directly into an EHR system. The same can be said of mobile health clinics. Patients can use a table to enter medical histories or sign up for patient portals so they can access their records from home. Practitioners can even engage in telehealth consultations to share test results or help diagnose ailments. And all data is immediately recorded in an EMR solution every step of the way.

Preventative Medical Care – The Future of EMR

As before, healthcare has “developed legs” and evolved to become so comprehensive that healthcare tracking is something that can remain with patients. Since the rise of the Internet of Things and wearable devices that track our health, patients are taking better preventative steps for healthcare. Instead of periodical healthcare snapshots, physicians can look at a profile of patients with ongoing health metrics and identify conditions that can lead to more serious health complications years down the road. This allows for a further understanding of illness which can push the boundary of medical education and progress. Many experts believe that blockchain technology will allow healthcare networks to aggregate hundreds of thousands of anonymous data points to identify risk factors and health trends, ultimately leading to early diagnosis and preventative health plans. And of course, medical computers will be at the forefront of connecting the dots.

These are just a handful of the ways that medical computers are maximizing the way hospitals and other facilities are using their EMR software. EMR software, like all technology, will continue to evolve and grow and the way that it is used on a day to day basis will improve the outcome of patients everywhere. For more information on how to improve your EMR investment you can contact us here.

 

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3 Ways to Automate Tedious Paper Processes in Hospitals

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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. Plus, the medical grade tablet’s easy-to-clean screen and antimicrobial housing keep germs at bay inside of hospitals and doctors’ offices. Unfortunately, that doesn’t take the work part out of paperwork, but we’re sure some folks like taking the good over the bad. 

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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3 of the Most Common Patient Complaints and Ways to Reduce Them

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Patient satisfaction isn’t an easy task to handle within a hospital; people are already in places they don’t want to be, and the smallest gesture in improving a stay can travel miles for a patient’s well-being. It’s up to staff to perform those small gestures and take advantage of them for the betterment of people. Not taking advantage of those small details could result in patient complaints. Patients file complaints on a consistent basis, and rightfully so; sometimes small mistakes, unrefined processes, and archaic procedures just result in a bad experience. There are several reasons why a complaint might arise, and all of them should serve as examples on how to improve—lest the hospital suffers bad return rates, scathing online reviews—you get the idea. Here are some common patient complaints and what can be done to reduce their frequency greatly.

Let’s Communicate, Not Procrastinate!

Insufficient communication is a constant for complaints. It might be the case that a nurse forgot to notify next of kin if a patient’s medical conditions change, or maybe there isn’t enough social activity to ease someone’s mental health while they’re bedridden. Regardless, communication problems often rank within the top five for any hospital, but there are some ways to improve communication between patient and practitioner, or even among medical staff.

Medical staff can achieve higher patient satisfaction ratings by using a medical cart computer or a mounted medical computer in the patient’s room to demonstrate how a patient’s illness is affecting them. Plus, it’s likely the case throughout the hustle and bustle of daily hospital operations that communication isn’t the best between nurses and doctors. Medical tablets keep communication at a constant rate so there’s no information falling through the cracks. Nurses can receive updates with patient orders directly to a tablet while doing rounds, or can video conference with an attending physician in a remote location. All parties can stay up to date, minute by minute, so the focus can remain on getting the patient the care they need and send them away, healthier than before.

In addition to the importance of communicating test results and other pertinent medical information with patients, it is equally important for the mental well being of a patient to be able to communicate with loved ones. A medical computer mounted on a patient table can have the dual purpose of allowing a patient to video conference with family members, check social media accounts, and mitigate any feelings of isolation while admitted.

Patients Need Better Sleep

Another common complaint is a difficulty in getting a good night’s sleep. Hospitals operate on a 24/7 cycle, so ambient noise won’t be avoidable. However, there are ways to reduce noise in a patient’s room. A lot of hospitals are mounting computers in each patient room, but this presents a lot of challenges to a patient. With these devices running 24/7 components heat up and need to be cooled. The last thing a tired patient needs is for a computer fan to go off next to their bed in the middle of the night. A fanless medical computer is best for in-room devices. Why?

Computers with fans can often reach noisy levels! A computer with a fanless design provides cleaner, quieter environment to help a patient get a better night’s sleep. Fanless computers are also safer, as they don’t blow dust, germs, and other microbes through the air, which could lead to nosocomial infections.

Hurry Up and Wait to Feel Better

We all know the story—calling up to make an appointment, leaving a message, waiting for a phone call, answering a call and waiting on hold for the nurse for scheduling, getting transferred to another physician—hurry up and wait is a constant struggle for outpatients. We’ve all done it ourselves, so why would you want your patients to endure that? Would you prefer your patients to wait longer to feel better? We wouldn’t either, but waiting is a common complaint that a strong percentage of patients mark down on complaint sheets.

With the advent of telehealth, patients can access their hospital scheduling department through a web portal and send off their symptoms within a few minutes. Doctors are notified via a medical tablet that a new request for appointment is in, and then can receive symptoms, previous medical conditions, current medications, and likely diagnoses—all within a fraction of time from the “old ways.” The patient can get an earlier appointment scheduled, get into the office, see the doctor, review diagnosis and facts, and then have their prescription signed for at the point of care. And in some cases, a diagnosis or course of treatment can be prescribed without the patient ever even needing to go to the office. You’ve just saved your operations hours and reduced the wait time for your patient significantly, all because every process was handled electronically through a medical tablet. That’s technology working for you and your patients.

When addressing problems with better technology, suddenly we turn a hospital experience from a terrible necessity into something positive. The last place anyone desires to be is on a stretcher or hospital bed, but through the use of medical tablets and other devices, we might be able to put a spark in day-to-day struggles that people experience, whether in-patient or out. Get people feeling better again, quicker, and you’ll see fewer complaints, possibly more sparkling reviews, a higher attendance rate, and perhaps even better career satisfaction among the hospital staff. It’s said smiles are infectious, and we tend to agree. Contact us to learn more.

 

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3 Methods of Reducing HAIs in Hospitals

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The US Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion has seen a decline in HAIs (Healthcare-Acquired Illnesses) in the past recent years. For instance, invasive MRSA infections have seen a 36-percent reduction between 2009 and 2014 per the health.gov website. That’s the result of a combined effort of following the specific action plan available on the site. However, healthcare as a whole can always make stronger efforts to reduce HAI contraction frequency. There are many tech-related problems that still contribute to the number of HAIs (and related deaths) that can be fixed by ensuring your hospital technology meets the grade. Here’s how to combat them with the tech in your hospital.

Dust-Free is a Must

One of the contributing factors for HAIs is something we can’t see very well—dust. Dust is more dangerous than we think, but it’s important we unpack what that term means. A large percentage of dust consists of dormant, decaying, and live microscopic particles, often particles that can be hazardous to patients. A healthy individual’s immune system is capable of protecting against stray floating particles, but to hospital patients under surgery or with compromised immune systems, many precautions need to be taken. One single infected particle from the air settling inside of a patient with an open wound can turn a hospital visit into an infection that can spread to the masses.

Experts in the field stress that fanless medical computers are important for hospital use but are mandatory for surgical procedures and anesthesiology efforts. A fanless design is a proper feature on a medical computer that significantly reduces the risk of HAIs and airborne infections. A computer without a fan intake won’t liberally spread dust mites and bacteria through the air. Besides, fans are considered heavy failure points for computers. A fanless construction won’t perform the impossible by eliminating all dust, but it opens up more possibilities for medical practitioners—like running the medical computer at the bedside to record a surgical video. Regardless of the use of the medical computer, a fanless design is superior for cleanliness. It boosts device longevity too.

HAIs Go Beyond Dust Into Microbes

Fanless designs are great for clean environments, but there’s still a presence of pestilence that we aren’t able to see. We invite you to take a closer look at any surface with a high-powered microscope to see what dangers lurk on nearly every surface in a hospital. Microbes thrive on all surfaces, especially surfaces that are frequently touched thousands of times per day. A computer on wheels that nurses take room to room is no stranger to touch, so this kind of computer needs a little more oomph to protect everyone against the smallest of threats.

Every true medical computer has an antimicrobial housing with a resin mixed into the plastic to help reduce HAIs. Fanless design is a necessary feature for a clean-room environment, but an antimicrobial housing is that extra “oomph” feature that a proper medical computer should have. It discourages microbe spread and growth. HAIs can be reduced further with these integrated features you’ll find in computer on wheels.

Spray Directly on the Medical Computer

It’s easy to be in a mindset of “constant cleaning” when in a hospital. Typically there are hand sanitizer stations at every patient door and at nurse stations, so seeing disinfectant everywhere helps to remind everyone to wash up often. Even with strong efforts in keeping clean hands, infections are still possible. Computers on wheels are highly frequented by hands (especially those with touchscreens), so disinfecting the computer is a no-brainer for physicians and staff. The problem lies with the computer itself—not all of them are built to take constant sprays. One sudden flick of the wrist could send a jet of industrial disinfectant onto a capacitor, and suddenly you’ve turned a cleaning problem into an expensive IT problem. That’s why you should look for a medical grade computer with an IP65 rating.

An Ingress Protection rating of IP65 is prime for a reduction in HAIs because you can spray directly on the sealed screen without worry of damaging the components of the computer. Besides, bacteria have an affinity for hiding in the nooks and crannies of unsealed bezels, reducing the effectiveness of a direct disinfection. It’s just a superior solution to tier-1 computers found in a retail store.

 

A high frequency of Healthcare-Acquired Illnesses in a hospital or clinic puts the cleanliness standards behind doors into question. It’s important to be “clean conscious” at all times when working with people, but ensuring that all computers have these features can reduce HAI frequency and add an extra layer of protection for everyone, whether medical staff or patient. Take a stance against the microscopic culprits and arm your hospital with the best medical computers on the market today. Contact us to learn more.

 

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Mishaps in Hospitals from Inadequate Hardware Problems

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Technology is great. We can stick to 8 hour work days while increasing productivity and then go home to families or plan out our next self-driven project. Granted that’s what technology is supposed to help us do, but sometimes bumps in the road of problem A to solution B can be tech-central. Technology can fail, unfortunately. Thankfully, the time invested to restore tech to working order is a sacrifice hospitals are willing to accept to bring better and less erroneous healthcare to patients. However, when older and inadequate tech is more of a burden, it’s time to consider scrapping what used to work ten years ago with something that can reduce tech-related stress and hangups that drain more time than necessary to get the job done.

Spotty WiFi with Computers on Wheels

It’s a constant problem for the 21st century in hospitals everywhere—spotty wireless communications in every corner of the hospital building. Call up a nurse’s desk to ask what issues they’re facing with technology and inconsistent WiFi will be mentioned. Chalk it up to weakened signals from aging hardware and insufficient components. It’s not feasible to remove that problem for good, but it’s possible to pinpoint key factors in technology—mostly residing in a hospital’s medical computers—that can be improved so WiFi isn’t a problem of which patient room you’re in or where you’re standing. Here’s WiFi woes and ways to restore the fidelity in the “Fi.”

Take a hypothetical case—a nurse using a cloud-based EMR system on a cheap laptop finds that in patient room 105 the WiFi doesn’t kick in, and so entering information relies on memory, written notes, or a silly, cumbersome workaround. That’s not ideal for a hospital, especially when “zero” can be a dangerous entry for a patient refill or a different metric. If the IT department has ensured that the wireless infrastructure is the highest standard on the market, then the culprit lies within the laptop. The wireless card inside of the machine doesn’t communicate well with the wireless routers in the hospital.

If that’s the reason for the signal drop, it’s time for IT to consider upgrading their computing efforts to medical computers with Intel-certified wireless cards instead of laptops that power cheap alternatives. An Intel dual-band wireless AC card is the current standard for wireless technology in a hospital. Not only more secure, these cards have the know-how to switch between wireless routers on the fly without signal loss. Computers on wheels are often pushed through several hospital wings and floors, jumping from one wireless router to the next. Intel wireless cards are secure and stable enough to swap from router to router seamlessly. It’s a hardware standard that computers on wheels and medical devices need to operate optimally. Besides, less stress on the end-user is always a positive thing.

Hospitals Don’t Shut Down—Neither Should the Hardware

Twenty thousand hours. That’s how long a standard hard drive disk lasts per average metrics and regular use. It may seem like a lot, but that’s just over two years if you do the math. Medical computers operate at near 24/7 runtimes. If there’s a hard drive failure in two years, that’s not a very strong lifespan for a computer to store data. The last mishap a nurse or physician wants is for the digital rug to be pulled out beneath them with a hard drive failure while they’re busy entering patient data into a medical computer. The drive can’t be sent off to data rescue because it would violate HIPAA laws. So, what to do?

Thankfully, technology has improved hard disk storage so there aren’t moving parts to break—solid state drives have a longer lifespan than regular platter hard drives, but that doesn’t rule the smarter tech out of defect or an eventual kaput. A medical grade computer with a military-grade solid state hard drive will push that two-year average life cycle to beyond five years. If the looming storage failure is still a concern for staff—which can happen at any given moment—then a backup drive coupled with the original solid state can serve as a proper safety net. IT can clone the surviving drive and restore the medical computer to optimal working status. Besides, a computer cycle for a hospital should be five years to stay with EMR software development. Having a hard drive that’s graded to last beyond a purchase cycle is ideal.

Shoddy Medical Computer Touch Screens

Touch screens are breeding grounds for germs and bacteria. Introduce the dirt and grease from five separate individuals’ hands onto a touch-screen interface and an infection may reside somewhere in the fingerprint jungle. They’re not always the easiest to clean either—spray disinfectant directly on a medical monitor and the internal components could suffer from adverse effects from the disinfectant (broken pixels, unresponsive touch controls, or an immediate transformation into a paperweight) running into the crevices of the monitor. Some insufficient touch screen tech needs constant calibration to ensure what’s touched is the intended function. Pressing “Close” should never result in “Administer Medicine”—we shudder at that thought. But there’s still tech problems galore in working with touch screens that don’t measure up to what hospitals need.

The kind of tech needed in a hospital is what’s called 5-Wire Resistive technology. Avoiding too much tech-talk, it’s a more durable technology than capacitive because it holds up to scratches and cosmetic imperfections, it’s easier to work with since it doesn’t require skin contact, it’s cheaper to manufacture, and it lasts longer than the newer capacitive technology. Couple these features on a medical computer and bye-bye tech problems.

It isn’t intuitive to think of hard drives, touch screen technology or wireless cards when you’re talking about patient care. But in today’s HIT world, technology is one of the driving factors in providing the absolute best user experience for healthcare practitioners so they can focus on taking care of patients. For more information on how a computer designed specifically with healthcare in mind is different than a commercial grade computer you can contact us today to learn more about our medical computers.