We will see some of the scenarios in which Healthcare was functioning before the Tablet PC arrived and also see how the Tablet PC helped solve some of the most demanding complex situations which made a big difference to the functioning.
Healthcare involves doctors, patients, nurses and medical firms which deal with selling medical equipments and drugs. This is one of the busiest verticals in industry working 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and 365 days a year. With no break during the year and no predictability on the outcome of any situation, this definitely involves the most amount of paper work and retrieval of data.
Doctors and nurses are the most who use data on a fast scale and also when on the move examining patients in hospitals or in their clinics during appointment hours. They capture a lot of data which includes the patient’s background, history of illness, diagnostic reports and medical advice. This also calls for lookup of data from time to time and taking decisions based on the analysis of data.
Let us see some of the daunting tasks faced by the health care industry before the Tablet PC arrived.
1. Cumbersome task of paper work.
Working with patients involve filling out of forms and then filing them or entering them into a central repository. In most cases there was no central repository because the task to transfer patient care information and timecard related billing information was enormous and there was no dedicated staff to do this. Also this required the dependency on third parties to create and manage the repository of information. Moreover the vast difference between the medical field and technology field meant that only doctors could understand the terminology of medical phrases. Hence in most of the cases the central repository of data was never created and the data was organized in files for each and every patient.
Also handling of paper forms and repetitive data entry took time away from treating patients and caused delay in efficient communication between the hospital staff, resulting in increased wait times for patients.
2. Slow retrieval of data when needed.
As explained above, when the data was organized in files, this meant that the retrieval of data for each patient was time consuming and took lot of effort because of the unpredictability results in healthcare. This meant that for each patient there was no fixed frequency when the previous data would be needed. And in most cases the volume of data varied from patient to patient and hence it was difficult to determine how much of the data had to be archived.
Doctors who were doing their rounds of medical checks in hospitals found it difficult to determine the history of the patient, because there was no data available on the spot and hence the doctor had to rely on the current data and provide the treatment based on experience.
We will see how Tablet PC helped to remove the hurdles as described above.
The Tablet PC has helped healthcare companies to reduce potential errors associated with manual records keeping by replacing lengthy paper-based forms with electronic data entry that used digital ink and handwriting recognition. The ability to fill out forms directly into a computer without time-consuming transcription enabled the company’s healthcare workers to reduce the time needed to transfer patient care information and timecard-related billing information to the corporate database.
Some of the top benefits of using Tablet PC in Healthcare are given below.
1. Use One of the Most Advanced Microsoft Operating Systems
Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is a superset of Windows XP Professional. It provides all of the power and capabilities of Windows XP and offers enhanced features for pen-based computing and mobility. The Tablet PC runs all Windows XP–compatible applications, including documents, images, audio, video, or any other medium your work requires. This means that health care professionals can now use the familiar tools of Windows XP to get their work done better than before.
2. Extend the Way Work is done with the PC
For years, healthcare professionals have been capturing patient information with pen and paper, recording audio tapes and medical images to document a patient’s condition and the care provided. This information then must be re-entered into a PC for centralized accessibility. The Tablet PC offers healthcare professionals a one-stop solution for recording information, including keyboard, pen, and voice input. The Tablet PC can be customized to suit the skills and preferences of healthcare professionals, enhancing their existing workflow and providing greater accuracy and less redundancy.
3. Work from Anywhere with One of the Most Mobile PCs Ever
The Tablet PC provides everything you expect from a mobile PC, but in a form that allows you to be productive in more situations—with a patient, at your desk, in the hallway, at a meeting, or on the go. Tablet PC comes in two basic forms: the "convertible," with an integrated keyboard, and the ultra-slim "slate tablet," which has innovative docking solutions for easy access to the keyboard while at your desk. Since Healthcare workers are among the most mobile of all workers, the Tablet PC caters to this work style, allowing you to move from room to room, floor to floor, or building to building while always having access to information—when and where you need it.
4. Take All Your Notes Electronically
Tablet PC allows healthcare professionals to create, edit, and organize handwritten notes and drawings that was normally recorded on paper into a searchable format. Advanced handwriting and speech-recognition technology allows healthcare professionals to search their notes to quickly find information. The Tablet PC as a form factor is less intrusive than a notebook PC, allowing interactions with patients and families to be more comfortable and natural.
5. Collaborate Easily and Effectively
The Tablet PC allows healthcare professionals to integrate electronic "ink" into everyday business applications, including Microsoft Office 2003 Editions¹, as well as many third-party healthcare applications. It is now easier to append and edit important documents, images, and other media to facilitate communication and collaboration, and enhance the understanding of clinical data used for education, consultation, or referrals. This information can be shared with other PC users—even if they are not using a Tablet PC. PC users with computers running the Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating systems can read the handwritten documents using the free Microsoft Windows Journal Viewer.
6. Personalize Your Experience
The Tablet PC can be customized to suit the working style of healthcare professionals. Features include calibrating the pen, optimize for left- or right-handed operation, and program the hardware buttons of the Tablet PC to complete specific actions, such as opening an application, changing screen orientation from landscape to portrait, or recording an audio comment. The Tablet PC adapts each and every healthcare professional and becomes a natural extension to help them communicate and collaborate.
7. Enhance Patient Care and Increase Productivity
The Tablet PC allows healthcare organizations to capture information the first time, reducing the time and cost associated with inputting patient data. Having access to the information at all times allows the professionals to spend more time providing quality healthcare.
8. Deploy and Manage Easily
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition includes the advanced deployment technologies and policies included in Windows XP Professional, making it easy to deploy and manage Tablet PCs in the corporate or small office environment. With healthcare IT budgets under pressure, a solution that is easy to implement and easy to maintain is just what the doctor ordered.
9. Unlock Patient Information
Quality healthcare decisions start with having the right information. Healthcare organizations have data stored in a variety of sources. The Tablet PC allows professionals to access the information when and where it is needed and make informed decisions about patient care.
10. Get High Levels of Protection for Critical Data
The privacy of personal medical information is not only fundamental to quality healthcare but also a legal requirement. The Tablet PC offers all of the security features of Windows XP Professional, including the Encrypting File Systems (EFS) security feature and the access control feature. Tablet PC also supports secure logon to a network using a single CTRL+ALT+DEL hardware button. This ensures that the privacy of each patient is well protected.