Bringing Technology to the Bedside
Workstations on Wheels are wowing patients, physicians, and staff alike

   Every piece of information about a patient—from health history to medication schedule—needs to be recorded, tracked, and updated. And now, the Mercy Medical Center staff is using a handy bedside computer station called a Workstation on Wheels (WOW) to ensure that patient information is recorded promptly and accurately, each and every time.
   Each WOW features a computer monitor, a keyboard, and a small desk area. "Nurses, doctors, and other staff members can input patient information right into the WOW so there’s a permanent record of what’s been done," says Jim Cunningham, President of the Mercy Medical Center Merced Foundation. "And by contributing more than $125,000, the Foundation helped ensure that every patient room houses a WOW. 
   Physicians can do their rounds, and can pull up a patient’s latest test results in just moments. All of the WOWs are networked to the Mercy electronic medical records system. "That’s great for patients because they know that all their information is in the system and accessible to their caregivers," says Lisa Wegley, Director of the Foundation. "If lab technicians need some information about a patient, they can get it." The WOWs also ensure that all patient information entered is perfectly legible. "No one is trying to figure out if it’s an ‘a’ or an ‘e’ [as may happen with handwritten paperwork]," says Wegley.
   In addition to being good for patients and hospital staff, the workstations—which take the paper out of paperwork—are good for the planet. "As you can imagine, we go through volumes and volumes of paper, so the WOWs are pretty green," Wegley says. Staff members say the WOWs make their jobs easier and ultimately improve care for patients, which is exactly what the hospital’s Foundation counted on when it made the investment.