Bedside terminals support quality patient care

In order to effectively evaluate hospital information systems today one must consider all aspects of the System, not simply the placement of terminals. A well designed system will be totally integrated via a single database, will support the concept of patient care management by exception, and will be bedside-based. Bedside-based data entry is a key aspect of a well designed system. The placement of terminals should support the work flow, not vice-versa. There are times when nurses and physicians will logically document at the nursing station, in the nurse's lounge, the physicians office, or a clinic; therefore, terminals should be located in these areas. However, the majority of care rendered is provided to the patient in a bed. Therefore, if computers are going to be support tools for clinical applications they must include data entry devices at the bedside. Results to date show this to have a uniformly positive effect on cost of care, quality of care and patient satisfaction.