HP Helps Healthcare Providers Go Digital

PALO ALTO, Calif., HP today announced that it is working with healthcare providers across the globe to improve their operational and business processes through the HP Digital Hospital Solution.

The HP Digital Hospital Solution is an integrated set of technologies and services from HP and its partners that allows healthcare providers to deliver better service to patients by aligning technology with business and patient priorities.

Digital Hospital becomes a reality across the globe

Providers around the world are going digital to improve patient safety and achieve their operational goals.

* Opened this month, the Akershus University Hospital (Oslo, Norway) is set to become one of Europe’s most technically advanced hospitals. HP has outfitted the hospital with a high-performance digital network, security infrastructure, teleconference and video conference systems, as well as desktop and printing facilities. By going digital, Akershus also hopes to become one of the most patient-oriented and cost-effective hospitals in Norway. The hospital expects to reduce operating costs by at least 20 percent and leverage its digital network system to enhance service and treatment methods. Additional information on the Akershus digital hospital implementation is available in this video presentation, delivered at the HP Health and Life Sciences Symposium.
* Asklepios (Hamburg, Germany) is developing some of the most advanced hospitals in Europe through its Asklepios Future Hospital (AFH) program. Based on its OneIT concept, Asklepios has partnered with HP to deploy seamless, interoperable and secure communications across its network. This solution ensures that all medical devices within the hospital are connected with a centralized digital clinical information system. As a result, Asklepios has realized a decrease in doctor workload, a reduction in duplicate patient examinations and an improvement of documentation quality.
* The University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) in Ann Arbor, Mich., is working with HP to develop the business and technology requirements for the future C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital. In addition, UMHS is evaluating several components of the HP Digital Hospital Solution to build on the architecture, including increased two-way communications by key stakeholders (patient, clinician and support staff), as well as increased integration of its communications, information, administrative and facilities systems. This enhanced integration is designed to help improve patient care and organizational efficiency.
* London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), located in Ontario, Canada, recently deployed HP’s technology to digitally track the location and use of infusion pumps within one of its hospitals. This asset tracking system allows its clinicians to spend less time searching for equipment and more time with patients. It is expected to increase patient safety by ensuring that the right infusion pump is in the right treatment ward, and that the use of the pumps already purchased by the hospital is maximized. This frees up capital dollars for other projects. HP and LHSC also are working on new initiatives as LHSC readies its new Women’s and Children’s Pavilion.
* Latin American General Hospital in Lagos de Moreno (Jalisco, Mexico) was outfitted with the latest in server, PC and mobility solutions from HP to improve real-time delivery of critical information, while reducing costs associated with printing and imaging. These solutions are focused on several departments – including records, admissions and laboratories – that have traditionally been very dependent on paper. By employing HP digital hospital technologies, Latin America General Hospital has realized an 80 percent reduction in printing expenses and a 90 percent reduction in X-ray expenses.
* University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto has tapped HP to build a parallel wireless IP communications and messaging system to digitize its clinical communication capabilities. The new system will address the growing demand for real-time access to data, available both wirelessly and via networks, to ensure healthcare professionals can access their electronic patient data at all times.
* The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (Leicester, United Kingdom) sought to design, implement and manage a fast, reliable and secure communications infrastructure. Leveraging HP’s experience in digital hospital design and implementation, the Trust deployed a network composed of wireless network infrastructure and voice communications. The network is helping healthcare professionals retrieve and share patient information quickly. Further investment also is planned to enable the tracking of mobile equipment and key assets, the remote monitoring of patients, and more efficient collaboration for effective patient care. The program is designed to support the delivery of electronic patient records and clinical, operational and business systems.

“Organizations are looking to respond to a rapidly changing healthcare market requiring them to improve the quality of their medical care, increase overall efficiency, reduce cost and become more accountable to the patient,” said Jeff Miller, vice president, Worldwide Health and Life Sciences, HP. “HP’s Digital Hospital Solution delivers these outcomes and ensures that patients around the world will benefit from this forward-looking approach to healthcare.”

To help healthcare providers on their journey toward a digital hospital, HP offers a range of services including current state assessment, architecture redesign and implementation planning, which comprises infrastructure implementation, information management and full integration. With an HP Digital Hospital Solution:

* Electronic clinical decisions support helps staff navigate through patient data more efficiently, thereby accelerating and improving treatment services;
* Changes in patient condition can be conveyed to clinicians in real time over an IP-based network, enabling staff to respond faster and more intelligently;
* Location-based services and active radio frequency tags help staff locate resources faster and improve asset management;
* HP Medical Archive Solution facilitates image sharing and reduces the costs associated with the explosive growth of information that picture archiving communication systems (PACS) bring; and
* Vast amounts of data can be captured and analyzed for medical research, speeding the creation of new treatments and healthcare-delivery options.

More information about the HP Digital Hospital Solution is available at www.hp.com/go/healthandlifesciences.

About HP

HP, the world’s largest technology company, provides printing and personal computing products and IT services, software and solutions that simplify the technology experience for consumers and businesses. HP completed its acquisition of EDS on Aug. 26, 2008. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

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