Duke University Medical Center and IBM Speed Up Access to Vital Patient Information25 June 2006
IBM today announced that Duke University MedicalCenter is transforming its information technology (IT) operations to allowits 1,500-plus faculty physicians and 800-plus staff to quickly accesspatient medical records from any workstation at any time.
By automating the way IDs and passwords are coordinated across hospitallaptops, workstations and computer kiosks, Duke Medicine is making iteasier for doctors and staff at its three hospitals and clinics in theRaleigh-Durham area to update patient records, order medications and labtests, and conduct procedures such as CAT scans and MRIs.
Clinical providers are increasingly dependent on instant access toelectronic information to care for patients and cannot afford to deal withdelays caused by problems involving IDs and passwords. In the emergencyroom, for example, doctors and nurses must have immediate access toelectronic medical records so they can examine a patient's history andobtain the information they need to make split-second decisions that willimpact that patient's life.
The IBM technology will reduce the number of IDs and passwords required,along with the hurdles of managing them, and will allow Duke Medicine staffto perform simple IT tasks themselves, like resetting passwords. This willsave them from having to call the help desk and wait for support, meaningthey can devote more time to caring for patients. Another benefit is thatnew and visiting clinicians can quickly gain access to the applicationsthey need to perform their job, such as the hospital's ComputerizedPhysician Order Entry (CPOE) system, which is used to authorize virtuallyanything that needs to be done for a patient, such as ordering medicationsor requesting lab tests.
The technology will also help Duke Medicine remain compliant with federallegislation, such as HIPAA, that dictates who should and should not haveaccess to patients' medical records. For example, doctors and nurses mustsign on to a hospital computer to access a patient's medical records.Should they forget to sign off, the software monitors and protects theworkstation by ending inactive sessions and requiring the next user to signon to enter the system.
"For hospitals, there can be no such thing as downtime, and technology canbe so much more than just a facilitator of routine administrative tasks,"said Asif Ahmad, vice president of diagnostic services and CIO, DukeMedicine. "We view IT as a way to improve the way our hospitals operatefor the well being of our patients. IBM is helping us make sure thesevital systems remain operating constantly, that they remain secure, andthat the right people have access to them."
IBM is also working with Duke Medicine to make sure that the systems thathouse patient records and run important medical applications remain up andrunning. IBM technology will give Duke Medicine a clear, dashboard view ofthe status of its IT systems, monitoring for anything that signifies apotential problem, such as a security threat or a decrease in networkperformance. If a problem is detected, the software will alert IT staff sothey can take immediate action and prevent failures to critical systems,such as intensive care equipment that monitors patients' vital signs, or aserver that holds medical records, which staff rely on to screen forimportant background information on a patient's health, like allergies andadverse reactions to certain drugs.
"Duke Medicine sees the potential of improving patient care by reducing ITcomplexity and system downtime," said Al Zollar, general manager, IBMTivoli software. "Working with IBM, Duke Medicine is making it possiblefor medical professionals to access patient data freely yet securely, whileensuring systems remain up and running with software that is more proactivein finding and resolving IT problems."
IBM Tivoli Identity Manager handles management of IDs and passwords, andalso manages an application called Clinical Inbox that is used by medicaltranscriptionists to create dictated clinical notes. Clinical Inbox wasdeveloped in-house at Duke Medicine and runs on IBM Lotus Notes.
The ability to monitor and manage system performance is provided by IBMTivoli Monitoring, IBM Tivoli Business Systems Manager, and IBM TivoliApplication Dependency Discovery Manager.
Duke Medicine also uses IBM Lotus Notes for email and collaboration, andrelies on IBM System p servers to run most of its critical health caresystems, including the Computerized Physician Order Entry system, itsoperating room systems, and its new ambulatory and medical records system.
For more information about IBM, go to: www.ibm.com
About Duke University Medical Center
Duke University Medical Center is consistently ranked among the top tenhealth care organizations in the country. With hundreds ofboard-certified specialists and subspecialists, Duke can provide expertisein every health care discipline. Duke operates one of the country's largestclinical and biomedical research enterprises, and quickly translatesadvances in technology and medical knowledge into improved patient care.For more information, visit http://www.dukehealth.org
IBM and Tivoli are trademarks of International Business MachinesCorporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company,product or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
IBM Media Contact:Jeff TieszenIBM Media Relations(512) 286-2279jtieszen@us.ibm.com
SOURCE: IBM
Source: marketwire
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