Just what the doctor ordered
By Richard Lee - Assistant Business Editor
FileOn Announces Two New Products at AIIM On Demand Show
FileOn Signs Multi-Year Agreement with Norwalk (CT) Hospital to provide Real-time Patient Care Information System
Norwalk Hospital's new bar-code system aids in patient care.
Patient files will soon be entering the fast lane at Norwalk Hospital. The 328-bed community hospital has signed an agreement with FileOn, a Norwalk-based provider of document managment services, to streamline the facility's routing of patient records and access by appropriate staff.
"The FileOn eLibrary will provide the ability to scan, bar code and router paperwork from the time a patient arrives at the admitting desk in the emergency department through the time a patient is discharged," said Ron Bleiberg, vice president of products and services for FileOn.
FileOn has developed customized software that will read bar coded records and electronically file them so they can be retrieved online by physicians, nurses and other health-care providers, said Marisa Barbiere, who has worked with FileOn. "It will be going live in June," Barbiere said, noting that the system will first be used in the emergency department.
The system will eventually allow instant access to patient documents anywhere they are needed in the hospital. For example, bar-coded documents on a patient in the emergency department can be scanned, and if the patient is admitted, the records are available immediately on a floor before the patient arrives. "The system will enable doctors in different areas of the hospital to simultaneously view and consult on patient information in order to determine the proper treatment.
This will speed up the current process of having the paperwork move with the patient at realtime,"FileOn President Anowar Shahjahan said. The FileOn technology helps the hospital comply with federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability. Act standards, and at the same time will help the hospital use resources efficiently, he said. "The FileOn eLibrary will enable Norwalk Hospital to reduce current costs and at the same time enhance patient care," Shahjahan said. It will also streamline the billing process because physicians will be able to sign off on a case anywhere they have Internet access, he said.
A member of the National Health Information Business Communication Council, Barbiere said she introduces bar-code system for documents at the hospital two years ago. FileOn was contracted to advance the technology. "We have a lot of faith in FileOn. We're on the forefront of this," Barbiere said, adding that only 3 percent of the nation's hospitals use bedside bar-code technology.
FileOn was selected from several vendors, said Christian Randon, hospital cheif information officer and vice president. The hospital was impressed by FileOn's programming diversity, software design and willingness to work with the facility's staff, Randon said, stressing that security of patient's records is crucial. "We asked them to locate the servers on-side (thater than at the FileOn's office on Golden Hill Street). We're concernced about HIPAA and security," Randons said
As the federal government promotes more efficient and safer health care, hospitals are seeking ways to streamline operations, said Missy Krasner, senior adviser for the office of Dr, David Brailer, national coordinator, health education technology at the Office of Health and Human Services in Washington D.C. "There are a lot of companies that have sprouted up to fill the niche. Norwalk Hospital is following suit with a lot of others who see this on the national agenda," Krasner said.
Published March 17, 2005 ( PDF article )
