Reader comments
Hospital rooms of the future smarter

Beancounters | 8:40 p.m. Oct. 13, 2008

Yeah, great idea, remove the personal element in patient care even more than it has been.

No need to even speak to a patient! Swipe the badge, the screen will tell you everything. Everything except that the patrient is human. How tragic that humans dosn't neatly fit managed care, beancounter program expectations and that it is medical professioanls who are responsible for patient treatments not a computer screen or a beancounter.

Afterall, computeres never have glitches, viruses, unexplainable 'voodoo' that corrupts files, including system files. Do they?

impatient | 6:26 a.m. Oct. 14, 2008

Looks to me like the driving force in all this innovation is the desire of the insurance company to reduce/eliminate malpractice lawsuits. In an effort to reduce human error, they rely on neatly programmed procedures. Just remember, to err is human, but to REALLY FOUL THINGS UP takes a computer. There seems to be a potential for a catastrophic failure in this system.

skeptical | 6:35 a.m. Oct. 14, 2008

My greatest frustration with medical care is not addressed by this - namely, rising costs. I'd estimate that this system will more than double the cost of a regular hospital room.

Comments continue below

MD Here... | 7:30 a.m. Oct. 14, 2008

ANything that minimizes the need for RN's to think is welcomed by me!!

scares me to death when I see them trying to figure out IV rates.

SLC gal | 8:34 a.m. Oct. 14, 2008

Maybe with these new conviences, nurses and dcotors can think more about the patient, and less about what they're doing to the patient. This could be a good thing.

Health Pro | 10:09 a.m. Oct. 14, 2008

To me, these potential computer capabilities are pretty exciting. Medicine has advanced dramatically over the years and also the job descriptions of health professionals. Of course the assumption is made that both the patient and healhcare worker can read. I know I wouldn't be able to read a screen w/o my glasses or contacts!

Experienced RN | 10:53 a.m. Oct. 14, 2008

We are in the age of comupterized care. This functionality not only frees up the clinician to actually provide physical and supportive care to the pt, but offers safety aspects beyond the norm such as informing the pt as to who is delivering the care. As far as the cost issue -- improved efficiencies and safety can only help minimize the cost of care.
As a critical care nurse of 25 years...this is a huge positive for care delivery...

Techie | 11:27 a.m. Oct. 14, 2008

Too late, Intermountain has already been doing it...has been.

HosiptalScares | 1:13 p.m. Oct. 14, 2008

I'm very excited for this to go into effect, though i cant imagine the costs. My mom was almost killed by a RN who couldnt figure out the IV dosage and, in doing so, tripled my moms morphine dosage. I had fallen asleep next to her and woke up when sirens started going off and i realized my mom wasnt breathing. My dad started doing CPR on her while i went to find a nurse (though the fact that no one showed up when the alarms started going off was scary enough). It took 9 minutes for someone to finally get in there. Imagine if my dad and i hadn't been there?? Now with more computers running these things there will hopefully be more safety to the people stuck in the beds.

MD Here reply | 2:41 p.m. Oct. 14, 2008

What scares me are doctors that thinks they know it all and fail to appreciate all parties in the health care systems

awesomeron | 3:22 p.m. Oct. 14, 2008

What scares me is Doctors that will not give you enough pain killer to kill the pain, because they might kill you.

My greatest fear is not Death ,its lingering in a Hospital or Rest Home total care, while people try to keep me alive for what ever reason. I know there are people and the relatives of people that want just that, this is because they fear death and want to stay alive in any condition at any cost.

They have the right to do this and I think if they want to do that they should be allowed to.

I have Vet Friends that went from total care to doing very well considering.

My former High Priest Group Leader has his Kidneys cleaned three times a week and he has 1 leg, but other then that he does fine and the Handi Van takes him to Church every week.

My home teaching partner and I have walked in his Hospital Room more then once with him on the brink of Death. The VA and rehab rest homes have done wonders with him. His Goal is to return to the Laie Temple and resume being a worker.

Informatics RN | 5:41 a.m. Oct. 15, 2008

Some of you really don't get it. The techology in this room would save lives and reduce costs by removing errors from the process. Yes, RNs and MDs do make mistakes. Mistakes like medications errors can be reduced to near zero. Other mistakes, such as judgement cannot, but technology can help. As for giving the RN or MD another reason to ignore the patient, that is the individual provider issue not the technology. Also consider how much of the RN or MD time is spent in paper work!
Last point to HospitalScares - find a new hospital. Sound like the one your mom was at was not even close to standards.

Anonymous | 4:28 p.m. Oct. 19, 2008

As an RN for 20 years I embrace the new technology. It is a double check system for nurses. I still look at anything and everything I give my patients. Now, if I could talk my documentation into the room then it would save hours of typing and writing and I could spend with patients. If you have had a terrible experience with care then I encourage you to send notice to your legislatures.......maybe then we could get more nurses, better education programs for nurses, better staffing and better technology to help us.
Most of us truly want the best outcomes for our patients. We did take an oath to "do no harm"

progress | 2:15 p.m. Oct. 21, 2008

I don't see healthcare IT as a step toward impersonalization, but the logical step toward progress. Med errors happen now way to often due to human error. This is obviously a problem that needs fixed. Why not try to remove as much risk of human error as possible? All the 'alterior motives' for IT is being implemented into healthcare that I've seen mentioned in comments on this article just don't seem to add up.

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