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Sparrow Emergency Department Successfully Brings Mobile Clinical Tools To The Bedside With The T SystemEV(R)
[January 31, 2008]

Sparrow Emergency Department Successfully Brings Mobile Clinical Tools To The Bedside With The T SystemEV(R)


LANSING, Mich. --(Business Wire)-- Sparrow Health System, a regional network of hospitals in Michigan's mid-state region, has rolled out a state-of-the-art wireless Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) at its flagship Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. The system, built on The T SystemEV(R) EDIS platform, debuted January 20, 2008 at the hospital's new 90,000 square foot Adult and Children's ED, part of the system's just completed, ten-story Sparrow Tower.



Sparrow Health System's new EDIS pairs T SystemEV, the industry's most advanced and comprehensive EDIS, with Motion Computing Inc.'s Motion C5 tablet PCs. The wireless solution will allow doctors, nurses, technicians and administrators to manage the entire patient care process from triage to discharge, electronically and through a single interconnected system.

According to Ronald Swenson, M.D., Vice President and Chief Information Officer for the Sparrow Health System, T SystemEV was the evaluation team's unanimous choice among the various EDISs reviewed. "Other applications can function in a mobile environment, but T SystemEV is designed from the ground up for fast and efficient use of mobile devices at the point of care," Dr. Swenson noted. "Its functionality, interoperability and security are ideal for our new mobile device strategy."


T SystemEV brings to the bedside integrated charting, patient and process tracking, clinical decision support, prescription writing, statistical reporting, ICD9 coding, order results, discharge instructions and much more. Its Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) feature allows Sparrow Hospital's physicians and ED coordinators, known as HUCs (Health Unit Coordinators), to seamlessly move between documentation, order entry, lab results, medications and care protocols using a single software interface.

"T SystemEV lets our doctors and nurses complete their preliminary exams rapidly, using best practice protocols for rapid data entry on the tablet PCs," Dr. Swenson states. "Minutes make a difference in an emergency department, especially with critical patients. Legibility of handwritten notes has historically been a problem for many organizations. T SystemEV solved this problem by automatically generating a typewritten narrative report as soon as the ED physician completes his or her work with the record."

Dr. Swenson said the hospital anticipated that implementation of the new mobile EDIS system would be a challenge. Instead, the staff was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the process went.

"This was the smoothest implementation I've ever experienced," he observed, noting that the hospital went from contract signing to 'go-live' in four months. "T-System had an exceptional program prepared for us. First, each user got his or her own CD with an interactive, multimedia training program to review. Completing the program was required prior to the second step of on-site training, which consisted of a half-day class for physicians, nurses, and residents. Third, a group of 'super-users' were sent to T-System's headquarters in Texas for advanced training using the Motion C5 tablets. These more experienced users made it easier for our staff to ask questions once rollout began."

"Fourth, all users had access to an online training lab for follow-ups and problem-solving," he continued. "Additional training was provided to registration, IT, HIM, medical records and billing company personnel. Fifth and finally, T-System's on-site team of clinicians and technologists provided great support during and after the go-live."

With nearly 100 people using the new mobile EDIS on a 24/7 basis, Dr. Swenson says that he anticipates that wait time and patient throughput figures will improve. What he is most excited about, however, is the overall improvement in efficiency and quality of patient care.

"We've gone from a system built on paper charts and whiteboards for patient tracking, to one of the world's most advanced emergency department information systems," he states. "Wireless is imperative for the future--and the combination of T SystemEV and Motion C5 makes it possible."

About T-System:

Founded over a decade ago, T-System, Inc. and T-System Technologies, Ltd. (The T System), combine an uncommon collaboration of clinicians, technologists and service professionals dedicated to serving the current and future clinical information and technology needs of emergency medicine. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, T-System is the leading provider of clinically accepted emergency department information system (EDIS) solutions. Today, more than 2,000 civilian and military EDs in the United States, Puerto Rico, Australia and around the world partner with T-System to make the best patient care a reality for everyone. For more information, please visit www.tsystem.com or contact Joe Lastinger at (800) 667-2482.

About Sparrow Health System:

Sparrow is a non-profit, community governed, comprehensive health delivery and financing system committed within its resources to improving the health status of all people in the mid-Michigan region. Sparrow blends the knowledge an expertise of more than 900 physicians, 7,000 associates and 1,600 volunteers with the most advanced medical technology to serve more than half a million people each year.

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