Grace Cottage nurse Darlene Clark works with the new Point-of-Care System with patient Mary Zenorini.

Thanks to a generous grant from The Holt Fund and an additional grant from the Federal Small Hospital Improvement Grant Program, Grace Cottage is in the process of implementing a Point-of-Care system. This computerized system permits doctors and nurses to enter information at a patient's bedside. As soon as the information is entered into the computer, it can be accessed by the pharmacy, lab, radiology department, and Grace Cottage's physicians.

What are the benefits to patients? Less time spent on clerical tasks will give the medical staff more time to spend with patients. Also, a computerized system of this scope can eliminate potential medical errors—for example, it will raise a "red flag" immediately if a patient is known to be allergic to a certain medication.

How intrusive will this system be to patients? There should be very few changes. Currently, patients admitted to Grace Cottage Hospital are given an arm band. This band will now include a bar code that can be scanned, instantly putting medical information about that patient onto the computer screen in front of the physician. Wireless transmitters have been installed around the hospital, which enable mobile computers to be used anywhere within the building.

What about Grace Cottage's reputation for personal, professional care? This system, provided by CPSI, will enhance Grace Cottage's professionalism. If you've seen the penmanship of some of Grace Cottage's physicians (no names, please!), you know what a benefit this Point-Of-Care system will be (very little keyboarding is required—it's often a matter of pointing and clicking a mouse) As for personal care, doctors and nurses will be spending less time buried in maintaining and deciphering charts and more time interacting with patients...which is what personal healthcare is all about!