Medical gadgets give LMH a dose of high-tech wizardry

Sara Stilley, Registered nurse in the surgery unit at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, left, visits with Bud Nation, right, a former LMH patient, during a tour of a Smart Semi, a mobile showroom featuring innovative hospital technology. LMH physicians and staff toured Cerner Corporation's Smart Room and Caregiver Station hospital

It’s a hospital room – called a Smart Room – with a bed that sits below a large television monitor.

When a doctor and nurse walk into the room, the monitor displays the patient’s medical information to help with diagnosis and treatment.

Lawrence Memorial Hospital physicians and employees got a glimpse into the future Friday, when Cerner Corp. parked a semitrailer full of medical gadgets in the parking lot.

LMH has implemented some of the technological advances in the last couple of years, but other changes are on the way, especially with the hospital’s renovations.

“We will take care of the technology. We will let them spend more time with the patient,” said Mike Supple, a vice president for Cerner.

Cerner staffers gave demonstrations during the day. Besides the patient room, the trailer included a waiting room – called the Visitor Retreat.

Electronic medical records give doctors and nurses an efficient way to access everything they need to know about the patient, especially when patient information – such as medication doses – ties into a system with hospital equipment, Supple said.

Since 2006, LMH has used a bar code system to help staff administer medication to patients. The computer can warn nurses if there’s a medication error, or it can warn the pharmacy if doctors prescribe conflicting medications.

Jessica Wright, who worked as an intensive-care unit nurse and now is in nursing administration, said patients at first were unfamiliar with the medication system. They equated nurses scanning their medication with them getting charged for items at the store, so the hospital had to work on educating patients, she said.

“It’s important that patients recognize that technology’s on their side, for their safety,” she said.

Jane Maskus, LMH chief information officer, said the hospital was planning two more major new steps in 2009 – advancements in surgical technology in January and a system that can organize automation of intravenous fluids.

Friday’s demonstration was a chance for LMH employees to see advancements in action.

“Here, they are seeing all of it together, working together, our vision,” Maskus said.