A growing number of hospitals are using mobile carts that give nurses easy access to information systems, diagnostic equipment, bar code readers and more. Carts will have a long-term role in hospitals because they’re extremely helpful to nurses, predicts Laura Jantos, principal at ECG Management Consultants, Seattle.
An emerging trend in the use of carts is the expansion of their functions, Jantos adds. “Hospitals are trying to use the carts as a nurse station,” she says.
By using a cart for multiple purposes, hospitals avoid having nurses and other caregivers carry a hand-held computer and walk around to retrieve the equipment and supplies they need.
For example, to enhance the functionality of some of its mobile carts, Northside Hospital in Atlanta has mounted blood gas analyzers on them. This streamlines tasks for respiratory therapists.
Mobile carts also will play a key role as hospitals roll out electronic health records and computerized physician order entry, Jantos contends. That’s because carts can help provide better access to data at the point of care. In many cases, hospitals are using a variety of brands and styles of carts to meet the needs of various departments, the consultant notes.
To read a feature story from the February 2009 issue of Health Data Management on maximizing the utility of carts, click here.
--Howard Anderson
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