The need to improve patient care has become a focus for South African medical administrators as hospitals struggle to optimise their often-limited facilities.
According to Chris van Niekerk, country manager of computer networking vendor 3Com, the use of a variety of automated technology solutions has been proposed as a way to achieve these objectives.
"The problem has been that technology is costly and has - in many cases - been beyond the budgets of hospitals operating on state grants."
Van Niekerk says that new, low cost technology is now available in SA to help streamline patient care.
"Wireless technology, for example, has been adopted by the commercial sector to significantly improve efficiencies. It can perform the same functions for hospitals by enabling healthcare practitioners to have immediate access to important patent information stored on central data repositories - at the point-of-care.
"This will allow caregivers to operate with greater precision and efficiency," says Van Niekerk.
He explains that the applications of wireless technology in the medical field, via local area networks (known as WLANs), are numerous.
"Using this technology, caregivers have the ability to make notes and retrieve patients` medical records from bedside electronic `charts`. Critical data can be exchanged among caregivers in real-time and on the go.
"And patient records can be updated anytime, anywhere, without the need for, or cost of, paper, which also reduces the risk of error when transposing patient information from a paper-based format into a computer database."
Van Niekerk says that ultimately, the underlying benefit - and promise - of wireless technology is twofold: it increases the reach of a hospital`s current network to the point-of-activity, most likely at the patient; and it supports the mobile nature of caregivers. It also saves hospitals money by reducing paperwork and cutting administrative costs associated with the completion, filing and retrieval of paper-based records.
"WLANs are already operating effectively in healthcare institutions around the world. However, there are some basic considerations to address before implementing the technology," he says.
"It is important to ensure a hospital`s wireless network offers complete coverage where required. Interference from lead walls in the x-ray room, medical equipment and from microwave ovens is just some of the common problems medical environments could face when installing a wireless network.
"Signal reliability is a significant issue when working with patient data. The basic rule: the denser the material, the harder it is for radio waves to penetrate.
"An unsophisticated, but simple gauge is the `shout test`: If you can`t scream through a brick wall, neither can the signals. More precise is a wireless site survey that involves testing and mapping signal strength. Therefore, the decision as to how many access points to purchase and where to place them for optimal coverage is important for IT professionals."
Van Niekerk adds that, with the use of hospital-wide wireless networks, wireless devices, including handheld computers (personal digital assistants or PDAs), notebook computers, cellular phones and medical technology recording devices can be linked to bring information to the nurses and doctors anywhere, anytime.
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