News
Beebe Emergency Department Installs New Electronic Charting System
04/26/04
Beebe Medical Center is revolutionizing the Emergency Department (ED) experience, from the way patients are greeted to how their care is tracked throughout their ED stay, with a new electronic system called ibex PulseCheck®. The system, which features a website browser format, integrates information for a broad range of services, including: patient triage, registration, tracking, nurse and physician documentation, prescriptions, lab and radiology services, and reporting. The official launch of the system is scheduled for 7 a.m. on Tuesday, April 27, 2004. Members of Beebe’s ED staff, including registrars, nurses and physicians, have been training on the system and will have a full month of experience before Memorial Day weekend.
“Beebe Medical Center’s Emergency Department team is extremely excited about the ibex PulseCheck® system and we are working hard to make the transition as smooth as possible,” explains Fran Needham, Beebe’s director of emergency and outpatient services. “PulseCheck® will streamline the paperwork side of healthcare, which will allow us to triage patients more effectively, decrease wait times, improve charting accuracy, access information quickly, and ultimately help our clinical staff focus on our main priority - patient care.”
Current ED Upgrades
To support its new electronic patient charting and tracking system, Beebe Medical Center is adding seven new flat-screen desktop computers, ten new portable laptop computers, a portable scanner for performing complete bedside registration, and a large screen plasma electronic tracking board to replace the current paper method. Beebe is supporting the system with two dedicated servers - one active and one as a back-up.
Additional technology will also enable more personalized service for ED patients. Patients arriving at the ED will no longer complete a registration form at the triage nurse’s office. A registration staff member will greet patients at a new “ED Check-in” area and send information through PulseCheck®, directly to the electronic triage board for the triage nurse to view and address. A greeter will also meet patients who arrive by ambulance to begin the triage and registration process. Registration will be 100 percent at the bedside, after patients are triaged. Patient information, such as insurance cards, will stay with patients, as registrars will now scan information directly into the system through a portable scanner. The system will eliminate the need for time-intensive paperwork and pulling patient charts, as physicians and nurses will make documentations and notes directly into the system, which will be immediately accessible to other members of the healthcare team in real time.
Overall ED Renovation Project
The electronic tracking system and redesign of the registration/triage area is the first step toward a major renovation to double the size of Beebe Medical Center’s ED to meet the growing healthcare needs of our community. The project, a major focus of Beebe’s Vision 2005 capital campaign, will ultimately increase ED beds from 18 to over 34, create a better workflow with a centrally located nurses station, and add a decontamination area and negative pressure room.
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