Managing People From Inside a Hospital

Since last Monday, I have been in the hospital keeping my girlfriend company.  She had gone to the emergency room and was then admitted for further observation.  Anyways, while typing this from her hospital bed, I am still processing the various ways technology has been integrated here.  Upon entering her room, I noticed a lock box on the wall.  I thought it was a machine to view x-rays, but I was wrong.  An employee with the hospital’s IT department came in and opened the box and to my surprise it contained a laptop.  Being the inquisitive person I am, I proceeded to inquire about the computer in the box and to why it was being removed.  The IT employee explained how a few year ago the hospital wanted computers in each of the hospital rooms.  It was thought that these computers would be used by the nurses and doctors visiting each room to keep records of the patient.  In theory this worked, but as the IT tech explained, things didn’t work out this way.  The computers ended up not being able to connect to the WiFi.  They also realized that it was more cost-effective to have computers the the nurses carried around.  This allowed for less computers, which cut down on costs drastically.  Each laptop they have is running a patient management program that allows for any patient to be looked up on any computer on the network.  In addition to information about each patient, the software manages all medication orders prescribed by doctors.  The doctors are able to update the patient’s profile with what medications the patient needs.  This information is automatically pushed to the nurse, as well as the pharmacy technicians that prepare the order.