Jackson Clinic
The Background: A Tennessee Classic
Based in Jackson, Tenn., the Jackson Clinic is a professional association of physicians devoted to the private group practice of medicine. Established in 1950 by five medical and surgical specialists, the clinic was the first multi-specialty group practice in Tennessee. Today, it is one of the largest group practices of its kind. The clinic has 132 physicians practicing in 24 specialties and sub-specialties in 18 offices throughout West Tennessee, and has long been recognized as the leading provider of physician services in rural West Tennessee.
The Challenge: Going Digital
The Jackson Clinic began archiving patient care records in electronic formats nearly a decade ago, and implemented a comprehensive electronic medical record (EMR) system more than five years ago (the EMR system is Physician's Workstation - also known as PWS - by Wang Healthcare). Until recently, however, doctors used the EMR system primarily as a back up to the paper chart. When data from the EMR system was needed, nurses normally accessed it via desktops in a clinic hallway to print out the information for the doctors to read. The paper record remained the official record of each patient, primarily because doctors were resistant to using personal computers in an exam room in the presence of their patients. To the treating physician, having a PC in the exam room would require the physician to literally turn away from the patient to log into the EMR system, and then to look up patient information in the EMR – an awkward, inefficient process. By 2002, however, physicians had become more comfortable with the reliability and accuracy of the EMR compared to the paper chart. Recognizing the shifting physician preference, the clinic embarked on a dual strategy to move the clinic to the next level of its own digital revolution: First, the clinic declared the EMR to be the official patient record, beginning a systematic de-emphasis of the paper chart system. Second, the clinic intensified its search for the right technology to facilitate more physician use of the EMR system at the point of care.
The Solution: A Half-Century-Old Clinic Prescribes 21st Century Technology
In its quest to find a technology solution to facilitate use of its EMR system, the clinic's IT personnel heard about the impending launch of tablet PCs and became intrigued. The pen-based features in the full-fledged operating system provided by Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet PC Edition made this a viable option. When tablet PCs launched in November 2002, the clinic tested all the tablet PC models on the market, including the slate-shaped Motion Computing Tablet PC. After testing each manufacturer's offering, including slate and convertible styles, the clinic chose the Motion tablet for several reasons. The Motion tablet's bright 12.1-inch screen size allows doctors to view a full-page document without scrolling. Its three-pound slate design, which is about the size of a clipboard, is easy to carry in one arm and enables doctors to work as they normally do with a pen to access patient records and enter handwritten notes. For these reasons, the clinic liked the lack of an integrated keyboard, which also adds extra weight and a cumbersome swivel mechanism on most of the convertible Tablet PCs. The clinic was also impressed by the Motion tablet's integrated wireless capabilities and ultra-low-power Intel processor. The clinic purchased several Motion tablets for a pilot group of doctors, who began using the tablet to access EMRs.
Real Results: Seeing Is Believing
The clinic's pilot tests exceeded all expectations and proved to be very successful in encouraging more doctors to use the EMR system at the point of care. Even doctors who vowed never to use computers in their practice will not part now from their Motion tablet PCs. The natural transition from paper record and pen to the Motion slate and electronic pen has convinced more doctors at the clinic to adopt the technology. To date, 100 doctors are using Motion tablets on three campuses. As Dr. Carlton Hays, who participated in the initial pilot group, stated, “We can't get the tablets rolled out fast enough.”
According to Dr. Hays, a major benefit of the Motion tablet is its capability to maintain a normal workflow for physicians – especially minimizing disruptions – as well as the improved efficiency created by bringing more information to the point of care. By providing a means of capturing and viewing data at the point of care, the Motion Tablet PCs are enabling doctors to use more of the functionality of the EMR software, rather than just using it as a backup to the paper record.
Doctors are especially pleased that the Motion tablet is inconspicuous in the exam room, leading to increased patient satisfaction as doctors focus their attention on the patient while having instant access to more information at their fingertips. Having access to the EMR and the Internet while in the exam room allows doctors to answer many patient questions on the spot rather than later in the day after they have found the time to look up the information. Because of the instant access, many of the doctors using the Motion tablet finish their work 30 minutes to an hour earlier each day.
Doctors also like the optional Motion FlexDock docking station, which allows them to use the tablet PC as a desktop when in their office.
At the Jackson Clinic, the Motion tablet PC not only is helping to better integrate the EMR at the point of care, but also is spurring doctors to keep pushing the digital revolution forward, using the tablets for more interactive tasks such as prescribing medications and documenting patient information during the course of the visit.
