Technology at the Medical Center
Nurses at North Carolina Baptist Hospital (NCBH) currently chart admission assessments and medications in the IDX LastWord computerized patient record. LastWord is also used for order communication, transcription and results review. Some units document ongoing vital signs and assessments as well as I&O. All of our adult (non-critical care) units use Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE).
Nurses and physicians can access LastWord through PCs and flat panel network terminals as well as radio frequency laptops. These options give the nurse the mobility to chart in real time at the bedside or at the nurse's station or conference room. Each new nurse receives 16 hours of classroom computer training during orientation.
Monitor techs communicate EKG changes to nurses from the Centralized Telemetry Monitoring Station. PACS workstations allow viewing of x-rays on 19" monitors. Nurses in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) monitor patients 24 hours a day with video and EEG monitoring.
McKesson HBOC AcuDose-Rx automated medication dispensing cabinets are on all inpatient units and the ED for first dose, prn and some scheduled medications. This integrates with the current McKesson ROBOT-Rx used 
for dispensing daily medications. New flat panel devices in every nursing unit give nurses access to the Hospital's Intranet.
Nurses can access Patient Education materials, Continuing Education information, Job Standards, Competencies and Evaluations online. In addition to the many other items available on the Intranet, nurses can quickly search and view all hospital and administrative policies with the click of a mouse.
We have also been piloting radio frequency phones that connect the patient call bell directly to the nurse as well as connecting from nurse to nurse and nurse to physician. We are also looking at a voice recognition system for charting.
North Carolina Baptist Hospital and the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center are dedicated to exploring and deploying the latest technology available.