Home Healthcare Industry Embraces Apple Messagepad Newton Intelligence as Hand-Held Computer of Choice
June 20, 1995 — The Apple MessagePad with Newton technology is becoming the platform of choice for home healthcare applications. As with other areas of medicine, home healthcare is faced with cost constraints, a need to collect large amounts of clinical and administrative information, and the challenge to reduce paperwork.
The price performance of the Apple MessagePad makes it the stand-out choice for home healthcare applications. Its combination of size, weight, and long-life battery give it a bright future in this rapidly growing segment of healthcare.
The following applications are in use or are under development for home healthcare using the Apple MessagePad.
ClinTrak Home health care professionals no longer need to spend hours each day transcribing paper forms into a computer in order to keep their patient information up to date. Time spent on paper and transcription will be reduced due to an Apple MessagePad-based home healthcare application developed by Green Mountain Software Corporation of Colchester, Vermont for Medical Support Services (MSS) of Centreville, Alabama.
ClinTrak, a home health care application for visiting nurses, uses the Apple MessagePad to capture patient clinical data at the source while the nurse is in the home. On a typical day, each nurse visits four to six patients using ClinTrak to record key information about the patient visit-mileage, vital signs, and clinical information.
Visit status, reason for visit, and use of medical supplies are also recorded. At the end of each day, the nurse links into one of MSS's satellite servers and sends patient information gathered from the previous day's visits and simultaneously retrieves the next day's visit schedule. Jeff Bauer, Dir., MIS at MSS says, "Home health nurses now have the ability to access the information they need to manage care. This type of system would not be cost effective or practical with out a platform like the Apple MessagePad."
Linked into MSS's information management system, ClinTrak provides key information for billing and patient tracking without the additional expense of re-keying critical patient data. Results include improved productivity and accuracy, as well as reducing costs. The system eliminates numerous forms and, for the first time, each patient's electronic record can be accessed by remote or on-site. Health care agencies with branch offices particularly benefit from this feature.
ClinTrak is currently in use in Tennessee, Alabama, Illinois, and Florida. Over the next 12 months, ClinTrak's use will expand throughout the U.S. The system has been in use since March of this year.
VISTA Shortening the information trail, minimizing errors and the ability to upload and download the next day's critical care information is essential to the home healthcare professional. With Visit Information Storage and Transfer Application (VISTA), Newton Docking Station and an Apple MessagePad, home healthcare professionals are ready for the next visit with up-to-date information on medication, plan of treatment, billing and E-Mail access in a single connection. Information is collected at the bedside and can be immediately transmitted directly to a central computer via telephone modem, or a wireless link, eliminating both paper and transcription errors. The pilot of VISTA was completed in February and will implemented in the third quarter of this year.
Edward Cullington, Clinical Systems Analyst for Quantum Health Resources (QHR), stated, "We really like the Apple MessagePad platform for the VISTA application because it puts the most features in the hands of our nurses at the lowest possible price."
QHR specializes in home healthcare services and was founded in 1988. They have 42 offices nationwide, employ 2,000 people, have $275MM annual revenue and are listed on the NASDQ (symbol: QHRI).
StaMar, Inc. developed VISTA for QHR and is a San Clemente, California software development company. They specialize in healthcare solutions based on the Apple MessagePad.
AQT pen!etics (a division of InfoMed Development Corporation, Canada) has developed a line of software for medical practitioners involved in home healthcare. Taking full advantage of the Apple MessagePad's portability and its simplified pen interface, nurses, physiotherapists, social workers, respiratory therapists, and other allied health professionals can view, edit, and update records without being tethered to the host computer.
Using client/server technology, the system communicates over phone lines or via wireless circuit-switched cellular, radio packet networks (e.g. RAM Mobile or ARDIS), and CDPD to Apple computers and to Windows NT hosts running the Wayfarer Enterprise Server. The health care provider has complete access to patient demographics, test results, medication lists, nursing/progress notes, physician orders, and billing forms, as well as messaging and paging. The speed and simplicity of pen entry on electronic forms has proven to be both cost effective and more accurate. "Each month there were 3,000 pieces of paper that consumed huge quantities of therapists' time that could have otherwise been utilized in administering patient care," states Elaine Gibson, chief of Physiotherapy and Operations Director of Trauma at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre in Toronto. Today, therapists like Rowena Fleming record directly onto the Newton MessagePad through AQT, a process that "is much quicker than the paper work flow management system."
"There is a tremendous gap between the information technology needs of the burgeoning home care industry and current practices in health care," says Jim Cribb, president of pen!etics. "The portable pen-based environment along with advances in communication have now reached a level of maturity to fill that gap."
DataCat 2000 DataCat 2000 from Advanced Systems and Software, Inc. is a full-featured home healthcare system that will be piloted in the Chicago, IL area this June. Its focus will be to reduce the visiting nurse's paperwork burden and the collection of clinical and billing information. DataCat 2000 will also support several types of professionals who visit the home including aides, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists. Forms unique to each specialty are available on the Apple MessagePad.
Clinical information can be recorded for allergies, diagnoses, medications, insurance, and emergency contact in addition to care plans, progress notes, initial assessments, and discharge summaries. Several reports are available which include referral source, provider, patient profile, and discharge tracking. Employees can keep track of licensure renewals, expenses, and scheduling.
Apple Computer, Inc., a recognized pioneer and innovator in the information industry, creates powerful solutions based on easy-to-use personal computers, servers, peripherals, software, online services, and personal digital assistants. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) develops, manufactures, licenses and markets products, technologies and services for the business, education, consumer, scientific & engineering and government markets in over 140 countries.
CONTACT:
Jeff Bauer
Tel: +1 800 467-0873
Stan George
Tel: +1 714 492-4610
Jim Cribb
Tel: +1 800 561-4993