Notebook computer repair

When home healthcare nurses travel often long distances to visit patients, they don't need to be impaired by faulty information technology that prevents them from doing their jobs, so using a reliable mobile computer is key to providing efficient and thorough patient care. Finding the best device for one's needs, however, can entail trial and error.

Home Front Issues

Alacare Home Health & Hospice, based in Birmingham, Ala., is the oldest and largest privately owned home health agency in Alabama. To provide care to people who cannot otherwise obtain healthcare services, the agency serves about 1,900 patients, about two-thirds of whom live in rural areas. Although the patients represent a wide range of ages, demographics and medical conditions, the majority of them are elderly and homebound, and many suffer from congestive heart failure, diabetes, strokes, or neurological or orthopedic problems. Full-time and part-time nurses, either working out of Alacare's 18 office locations or living in the communities they serve, regularly travel to patients' homes, assess patients based on physician orders, and provide educational materials. Each nurse sees 5.5 patients daily, on average.

In 1998, Alacare's nurses dispensed with paper-based records and began using assigned notebook PCs at patients' homes for uniformity in documentation, easy access of information from prior visits and improved sharing of information using McKesson Horizon software. After going home or to the office at the end of the day, the nurse accessed Alacare's network via a dial-up modern, uploaded the information and downloaded the next day's assignments.

However, the nurses experienced problems with the notebooks, according to Susan Freeman, Alacare's director of business applications system and support. Although they could record data on the devices, the nurses sometimes could not access the data later. Also, the nurses occasionally bumped or dropped the notebooks, resulting in cracked screens. About 10 of the devices were being repaired at any given time.

Taking the Next Step

Freeman researched alternative devices by surfing the Internet, participating in vendor demonstrations, testing sample devices, and calling similar home healthcare agencies to learn about any portable PC devices they were using.

She chose the Toughbook T2 notebook PC by Panasonic Computer Solutions Co., Secaucus, N.J., for several reasons. The Toughbook T2 did not have the input/output problems of the other notebook, and it could better withstand being bumped or dropped without becoming damaged and needing repair. Also, the Toughbook T2 weighed about 27 percent less than the other notebook, and it had a hand strap underneath that a nurse could use to hold and stabilize the device while entering or accessing data with the other hand. Finally, it enabled the wireless transfer of data, so nurses could upload information to the network from anywhere within an Alacare office, and the information would be immediately available to other staff.

Alacare purchased the Toughbook T2 notebook and deployed it immediately. The agency also made the commitment to install wireless local area networks (WLANs) in all 18 of its offices.

Smooth Operation

With 61 Toughbook T2 notebooks in use, Alacare is still seeing about the same number of patients, but it has decreased its nurses' frustration, since the devices rarely malfunction and need repair, according to Freeman. Nurses can visit patients in their homes, easily access previously recorded information, enter new readings and notes, and provide updated information to others in a more timely fashion. Although only four of Alacare's 18 offices have WLANs, the other offices are scheduled to have WLANs installed, too, and Alacare plans to purchase more Toughbook T2 notebooks in the near future, Freeman says.

SOURCE

Susan Freeman

Director of Business Applications System and Support

Alacare Home Health & Hospice

Birmingham, Ala.

susanf@alacare.com

PRODUCT/COMPANY

Toughbook T2

Panasonic Computer Solutions Co.

Secaucus, N.J.

www.panasonic.com/computer

For more information about the Toughbook T2 from Panasonic Computer Solutions, www.rsleads.com/409ht-201