|
August 2002
Introducing the First
All-Digital Hospital in the Nation
Oklahoma
City—The Oklahoma Heart Hospital is open and it is the first all-digital
hospital in the state—likely the first in the nation—and is among only a
handful of such facilities, worldwide. The $75 million,
204,000-square-foot building is a partnership between Oklahoma
Cardiovascular Associates and Mercy Health Center, along with other
cardiovascular physicians.
“Many hospitals
have digital capabilities, but what makes the Oklahoma Heart Hospital
revolutionary is that we have digital technology integrated throughout
the hospital, and that’s never been available before,” says Dr. Dwayne
Schmidt, a cardiologist and one of the visionaries behind the hospital.
“Literally at our fingertips is the ability to pull up any clinical
information on our patients, including all medical images, medication
and allergy reaction records, past procedures and consultations with
other physicians.”
High
resolution, digital monitors will not only provide access to patient
history but will also allow physicians to more easily illustrate and
explain test results to patients, even at the bedside. The technology
will cut down on errors and the likelihood of patients having procedures
they don’t need. The Oklahoma Heart Hospital’s digital capability also
gives patients more personalized care with shorter turnaround times—care
provided by nurses and physicians who, thanks to an all-digital
hospital, can spend more time on the patient’s care and less time
hunting down paperwork they need to make informed decisions.
“It is
virtually impossible to retrofit old heath care buildings with new
technology—unless the framework is already in place,” says Mike Schroyer,
president of the Oklahoma Heart Hospital. “Because we are digitally
wired throughout the hospital, as new technologies come along, we will
be able to implement them and continue to provide a high quality of
patient-focused care.”
The Oklahoma
Heart Hospital is a paperless and filmless facility that provides
instant access to all patient records and medical images throughout the
hospital and at remote locations. Besides digital technology, the
Oklahoma Heart Hospital also provides:
• A critical
path from the emergency room to the cath lab to the operating room in 45
minutes. That’s crucial considering that the national average time from
the ER to surgery is more than two hours. That’s what a hospital, built
from the ground up with a complete focus on heart care, can do to make
the difference.
• A maximum of four patients to one nurse. That ratio provides the
flexibility to create more intimate care and allows nurses to be
assigned based upon patients’ needs.
• Patient rooms that double as critical care rooms so patients aren’t
needlessly transported from one place to the next. It’s not uncommon for
heart patients to be transported at least five times during their stay
and studies show that those moves create stress. Not only will Oklahoma
Heart Hospital patients rarely be moved, they will also have a portable
heart monitor that will continuously track their blood pressure and
heart rate.
• An atmosphere that welcomes family members. Every patient room is
equipped so one family member can stay overnight (even critical care
patients). There are also no restrictive visiting hours at the Oklahoma
Heart Hospital.
“These doctors
have been involved in the design of every square foot of the Oklahoma
Heart Hospital, ensuring that every procedure, every step is as simple
as possible,” says Mike Packnett, president and CEO of Mercy Health
System. “They’ve taken their invaluable experience in caring for heart
patients through the years and incorporated it into the very walls and
mortar of this building.” Dr. John Harvey, medical director of the
Oklahoma Heart Hospital adds, “We are focused on our patients and that,
along with our digital technology, is what makes the difference.”
|
