Singapore, 10 May 2007 - Changi General Hospital’s (CGH) Accident and Emergency (A&E) department further enhances the quality of patient care and improves its operational efficiency through the use of a new mobile device designed for nurses and doctors, known as the Mobile Clinical Assistant (MCA).
CGH, an institution of the Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) group, is one of the first three hospitals worldwide to conduct a pilot trial of this new mobile point-of-care device developed by Intel and the only one to implement it in an A&E environment. With the success of the trial in 2006, CGH will be implementing the MCA later this year.
Mr T K Udairam, CGH’s CEO and SingHealth’s IT Steering Committee Chairman said, “Time pressure is the biggest issue for an A&E as doctors and nurses may have to multi-task to look after several patients at the same time. CGH is on a constant lookout for new technology to help us work more efficiently. We are glad to be a pioneer worldwide in using the MCA in an A&E environment, for it will not only help us to be more efficient but enhance the quality of patient care too.”
Highly portable, the MCA will enable doctors and nurses to effectively manage the hectic workflow in a fast-paced A&E. They can spend more time with their patients, manage investigations and treatments on the move while remaining connected. CGH’s A&E department is currently one of Singapore’s busiest with more than 139,000 attendances in 2006.
“The lightweight, spill-resistant, drop-tolerant and easily disinfected Mobile Clinical Assistant is Intel’s first platform built specifically for healthcare. The MCA is an important step in the company’s efforts to better connect clinicians to comprehensive patient information on a real-time basis,” said Mr Patrick Liew, Singapore country manager, Intel Technology Asia. “Intel is privileged to be the technology partner working with both CGH and SingHealth to elevate the level of healthcare services in Singapore.”
The MCA has earned support from doctors and nurses around the world who have participated in the pilot studies. With the use of integrated radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, the MCA allows for easy, rapid user logon. Its wireless connectivity enables doctors and nurses to have quick and secure access to the patients’ records and investigation results by the bedside, improving the speed and quality of clinical decision. In addition, the patients’ vital signs that are captured through the built-in Bluetooth technology can be viewed immediately on the MCA, alerting doctors of any abnormalities. A built-in digital camera enables capturing of patients’ physical conditions such as wounds and injuries.
With the MCA being implemented in CGH, SingHealth will now explore the use of MCA in other institutions under its group.
“The MCA is yet another example of a SingHealth institution harnessing technology continuously in innovative ways to enhance the quality of care for patients. Our IT team will now work with clinicians at our other institutions to identify relevant usage areas, where the MCA can add value to and improve their clinical and administrative processes.” said Mr Fong Choon Khin, Group Chief Technology Officer, SingHealth.
For media enquiries and interviews, please contact:
Ms Ai Ling Sim-Devadas
Changi General Hospital
ai_ling_sim@cgh.com.sg
Tel: 6850 2730
Mr Elvin Ong
Intel Technology Asia
elvin.ong@intel.com
Tel: 6213 1704
Ms Ong Shao Ying
Singapore Health Services
ong.shao.ying@singhealth.com.sg
Tel: 6557 4913