Automated Check-in At Hospitals

[Plenoptic 0]

At the emergency room at Parkland Hospital in Dallas that used to take hours just to tell a nurse what the problem is, they now have an automated check-in. You put in your information and then there is a touch screen you use to describe the problem. If you don't know exactly what's wrong, you can tell where it hurts. If your symptoms bring up a severe emergency, it will immediately notify the nurses and it will arrange the line by how serious the conditions are. Those who are more of a life/death will be put up to the front. The system takes into consideration previous problems and age so if a patient doesn't really know what's wrong, and they are older, they will be pushed a bit to the front.

This has speed up the process a lot for patients of all kinds. Those who don't really know how to use a computer have aid to help them but not many have had problems with it so far. Now instead of waiting in line to tell a nurse the problem they can be seated right away. This really is a great way I think because people can get to their seats right away and those who are in the most trouble will get the proper care right away. I'm surprised it didn't push those who aren't that important to the back. I guess it must take into consideration time spent waiting as well.

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Edited July 16, 2007 by Plenoptic (see edit history)

[CinnamorollTK 0]

It sounds like a nice idea. Unfortunately machines have a problem to malfunction or have errors. What if the programmer didn't add everything in? How hard would it be to update it for new diseases and symptoms? It could have its good sides, but at least until a few years pass for it to be debugged, there will be problems.Not to mention the people who still can't figure out how to use a keyboard while they had a heart attack or stroke.

[Plenoptic 0]

It sounds like a nice idea. Unfortunately machines have a problem to malfunction or have errors. What if the programmer didn't add everything in? How hard would it be to update it for new diseases and symptoms? It could have its good sides, but at least until a few years pass for it to be debugged, there will be problems.
Not to mention the people who still can't figure out how to use a keyboard while they had a heart attack or stroke.

If one of the machines break down, they can place an out of service sign on it and they can use another one. I'm sure there was more than one programmer and they already have a database of all problems online because there is a website you can search for how to treat things and what not and it's not like hospitals haven't had computers before, they just used paper for sign in sheets and what not. It can't be that hard to add things in there with the technology there is today but if the case is that it isn't, you can just describe what's wrong, but since your medical history is in there it will alert doctors that a patient with "such and such" disease is in the Emergency Room. Nurses are there standing by to help those who need it, so if they are having a heart attack I'm sure they can fill it in there for them. If it's that severe they try to treat him right away though anyway while a family member fills it out or they will fill it out later.

[9block 0]

Obviously the problems arent that simple, but if you do have a problem with the machine, im sure a nurse will help. Its like self-check ou at grocery places, you can still choose to goto the nurse and there is always a teller nearby to help out. And yes, at the beginning of every technogoly, there is problems, thanks for pointing that out.

If you were to go to the link and read about that, you would realize that the first photo you see, the nurse is helping that fella out. (Ironically, the system doesnt look all too wheel cheer accessible (jokes))

Now I am not sure how much faster the service would be, because i would rather talk to a nurse that is typing it than typing it myself (well, not me, but most people). While it has probably been made easy to use, I could see first-timers taking there time making sure they are doing it right, where as if they were to deal with a nurse the process would probably most like go quicker.

But even patients familiar with computers had some frustrations.
Tallan Askew, who was doubled over with stomach pain as he waited for care this week, said his fingers were too big for the screen, so he kept making the wrong selections. A staff member had to help him through the system, he said.

"I'd rather have a pen and paper," said Mr. Askew, who is 20.

Im not sure if the article mentioned this, but another good point is having more nurses ready to help those in need and take care of patients, rather then checking patients in. it is eliminating a job for the nurse, giving her more time to do other things on her checklist. Over all, it is a very debatable topic, and while I love the idea of a computer, i also hate seeing it slowly consume human jobs (i know it doesn't here). I don't think this type of technology is ready to be implemented for another 30 years when there will be a higher percentage of tech saavy population.

[csp4.0 1]

the machines won't be as flexible as a nurse, because just telling where it hurts won't help much, it could be from the humble stomach ache to the deadly 'ahh i've got a knife in my arm' pain

[9block 0]

Well im sure you can describe where it hurts and how. The program, as stated above, also checks previous records and your age to self-determine where on the priority list you can be. As for how the system completely works, I would think that the machine would only do so much processing before sending the query to a priority list that a monitoring nurse probably regularly modifies.

[TikiPrincess 0]

And one by one the machines are taking over...Well, it's definitely more cost effective to have a machine check you in, but I can see that some people might abuse the system and enter information that isn't correct in order to get to the front of the line faster. Not to mention the fact that germs and bacteria are passed more often through skin contact than anything else. With all the sick people touching it, you'll need to wipe it down with alcohol after every user.Of course, if people used the emergency room just for EMERGENCIES as it was intended, we probably wouldn't have this problem in the first place. Healthcare costs are through the roof and insurance isn't much more affordable, so people use the hospital like a doctor's office when they've got a simple fever and clog up the line.